The Convenient Wife
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: A&A AU 1912, Arthur and Ariadne are in an arranged marriage. Ariadne must marry this total stranger after disgracing her family. Arthur must marry to accommodate the tradition of the era. Their new trust, and hopeful love for one another, is tested as they move to a large estate that is under threat for jealous, evil relatives. DOWNTON ABBY FANS!
1. Chapter 1

**A&A, AU **

** 1912, Arthur and Ariadne are in an arranged marriage. Ariadne must marry this total stranger after disgracing her family. Arthur must marry to accommodate the tradition of the era. Their new trust, and hopeful love for one another, is tested as they move to a large estate that is under threat for jealous, evil relatives. **

**The Convenient Wife**

_New York City_

_September, 1912_

1.

~ Ariadne shifted nervously in her seat as the train whistled nosily into it's final stop. She had never been to New York and the city skyline alone was enough to terrify her. What she saw of the population and city from her window was not encouraging. It was an outlandish mixture of people she could never have dreamed of. The streets were not all paved like she had suspected, and there were still horse draw carts and rough looking workmen. These men were pulling and loading iron beams and steel onto lifts that were going to erect tall buildings. They reminded her of some mythical tale of gods building their home which no moral could see, let alone enter.

She pulled out her notebook and quickly jotted that thought down. It might make for a good story idea later. Her fears of this massive city were soon alleviated as she watched the people from her secluded train car. Her fiance, Arthur, had paid for her to have a private trip to the city and she had enjoyed the journey. So much so, she had forgotten that she was on her way to an arranged marriage with a man she had never met.

~ Arthur was waiting for a train. He pulled out a batted, silver pocket watch to check the time again. It had belonged to his father and, even though it was cheaply made, it still ran perfectly.

The watch was the only thing on the young man that wasn't pristine. His whole attire was perfection by any standard. His suit was well made and tailored to fit his long, lean frame. His shoes shone like mirrors. His haircut was in fashion and his jaw was cleanly shaven. The only thing that ruined the effect of a handsome man was the deep, angry scowl he wore.

"Don't worry, she'll be here." Cobb said happily. "Then it's off to the court house and we can get the judge to marry you to. Then it's England for the both of you."

"I know. I know she's going to be here. She doesn't exactly have a lot of options, does she?" Arthur grumbled as she looked down the tracks for her train.

"Don't sell yourself short." Cobb teased. "You're a fine catch."

"Doesn't it bother you that woman has agreed to marry me sight unseen?" Arthur asked.

"Well, her situation in life, she doesn't have much choice. Its a fraud marriage or nothing." Cobb said casually. "She needs a husband, you need a wife if you're going to inherit Lord Bradford's estate and his title."

"I don't care about the title." Arthur said.

"Sure you do." Cobb laughed. "It's very vogue now for American's to have some link to an old English family. We have businessmen marrying off their only daughters to some faraway lord so they will be more interesting at parties.

"I don't go to parties." Arthur said fitfully.  
"Well, you will have to." Cobb said sternly. "I'm told the house at Blue Rivers hosts a great deal of social events. You will be required to take up the slack now that his lordship is gone."

"All those first class men who survived Titanic, why couldn't he be one of them?" Arthur grumbled as he sat down next to his old friend.

"We like to think he may have given up his seat to a woman and her child." Cobb said gently. "It doesn't change the fact that Lord Bradford and his only son have been declared lost in the disaster. There is no heir to his estate and England still has that barbaric entail practice. You are the next male family member and you will inherit his house, his money and all his holdings. The only stipulation is that you be married. The lawyers were quite specific on that point. They want the linage to continue and that means no more lonely bachelor nights."

Arthur sighed.

"Don't worry. Ariadne is a fine girl." Cobb said reassuringly. "She attend the best finishing school in Philadelphia and even taught school before her fall from grace."

Arthur shook his head. He didn't like to think about that aspect of his arranged marriage.

"She knows how to throw a good party, arrange flowers and how to make you, her husband look good. Once we get this marriage arranged, she'll be an honest woman and you'll have your estate. You don't have to see her too much if you don't want to. But you have to stay married to her. Otherwise, the estate will go to your distant cousin, Mr. Eames." Cobb explained.

"I know all this." Arthur fumed. "I know I'm marrying a... solid woman."

"Don't think of it like that. Plenty of decent girls get into trouble." Cobb told his old friend. "Who are we to judge? We're not angels you know."

Arthur smiled.

"I know." He said.

Suddenly the train was there. It's loud engines were deafening as steam pushed all along the once empty tracks.

Arthur and Cobb stood. The former smoothing out his suit in a nervous habit of his.

"What if she's ugly?" Arthur asked Cobb.

Cobb only smiled and shook his head.  
"We will see." Cobb laughed.

~ '_What if he's ugly?_' Ariadne thought as she hesitated to collect her belongings. What if this Arthur person is an old man who can't keep his hands to himself? What if he was the sort to beat her? What if he was the type to beat her then have his way with her? She would be his wife. There was nothing in the law that was there to protect her.

She clumsily took hold of her small carry on bag and descended the steps to the platform.

Everyone was waving and saying hello to the other passengers. No one was there to say hello to her.

Children were running to their grandparents and lovers were embracing as she stood there by herself and feeling foolish.

Nervously, she smoothed out the wrinkles of her dove gray traveling dress. It was a few years out of fashion, but it was well made and still serviceable.

She felt ridicules in the hat however. She was just barely old enough now to start wearing these silly, oversize hats that were all the rage.

Her mother had insisted however. If she was going to get married in New York, she would look presentable.

Her father had said nothing to her that day they bought the hat for her wedding. Her father had stopped speaking to his only daughter all together. She had disappointed him more then he could bare.

Ariadne shook her head and tried not to think of her father.

"Ariadne?" Came a voice from behind her.

She turned. Her head feeling heavy with the large hat balance on her head. It's obscene feathers and flowers weighing her down.  
"Are you Ariadne?" The gentleman asked again.

Her eyes lit up. Hope springing into her heart at the picture of perfection that was before her. Her bride groom was impossibly handsome. His blue eyes were clear and pleasant looking. His blond hair was smoothed back and he held his hand out to her protectively. The way a gentlemen should.  
"I am." She said feeling her face break out into a smile.

"Good to finally meet you." The gentleman said with a kind smile. "I'm Dominic Cobb."

"Oh, Arthur's friend." Ariadne said sadly. Certainly, this handsome man was not meant for her. Life wasn't that kind to her.

"Also his solicitor." Mr. Cobb told her. "Shall we meet our new friend?" He said waving his hat towards the station's first class waiting room.

"My trunk?" She asked as he guided her chivalrously though the crowds.

"I have my man seeing to it." Cobb assured her.

Ariadne took a deep breath for courage before finally meeting her future husband.

~ Arthur was restless. He thought briefly of running away out the back door, but he wasn't the type to run from something. If she was unsuitable, he would send her back to Philadelphia. He would pay her ticket, perhaps a little more for the inconvenience, and never think about her again.

He didn't need Lord Bradford's estate. His father had come to America when he was only ten years old. Both his parents dieing on the crossing from England. Since then he had worked to give his only son, Arthur, a better life.

Arthur had in turn gone to school and made something of himself. He had started a business in steel and within five years, had ten factories building ships, railroads and colonizing this great continent that was too wild for civilization just a few decades ago.

He was a rich man now. His father, regrettably not living long enough to see his son's great success. Arthur threw himself into work even harder. His school friends all got married and were starting families, yet, he was falling behind. He had no time for women. They were silly creatures who talked of boring things.

Still, Cobb was right. He needed a wife. So many aspects of his life would be easier with a wife to attend to them. A wife would make him more presentable to society. A wife would ensure his personal affairs were in order and a wife would help to keep his name above scandal.

Still, the idea of marrying this strange girl. One who was in a condition, no less, bothered him.

"Arthur?" Came Cobb's voice.

Arthur looked up and stood.

There, on Cobb's arm, was his future bride.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

~ Ariadne glanced worriedly at the young, angry looking man at a little table in the back of the train station restaurant. He was young, not much older then she was. However, his face was drawn into harsh lines that made him look much older.

"Arthur this is Ariadne." Cobb said politely as Arthur stood and looked her over.

Ariadne felt herself blush and turn away. She gripped Cobb's arm tighter.

'_Why couldn't it have been Cobb, and not this man?_' She thought sadly as Cobb pulled out a chair for her to sit.

"Allow me to get some tea for the both of you." Cobb said once Arthur was seated by her. "I'm sure you're exhausted after your trip."

"Thank you." She said to the gentleman and watched him longingly as he left.

She was alone with Arthur.

Not totally alone now as they were still in a crowded station restaurant. But they were still at a table to themselves.  
"You're Arthur." She said pleasantly to the young man at her side.  
"Yes." He said. His voice deep and curt. He said nothing more.

She nodded. She disliked him already and wished Cobb would return.

"Well... I'm very pleased to meet you." She said trying to keep the conversation going. At her finishing school, she had learned how to keep a less than interesting person talking.

"Likewise." Arthur said stiffly. "Was your trip pleasant?"

"Very pleasant." Ariadne said brightly. "I greatly enjoyed my private accommodations. Thank you."

"My pleasure." Arthur said. His gaze falling to his hands.

Ariadne thought of something to say.  
"There is so much construction going on in the city, I think we will scarcely recognize it in a few more years." She said trying to bait him into a conversation he might enjoy.

"Has Mr. Cobb explained to you this situation?" Arthur asked. His voice harsh and intimidating.

She blinked as if she had been struck.  
"Yes." She said looking down as her gloved hands.

"He has told you that if we marry, you will be joining me on a passage to England? That we will reside in the estate house of my distant relatives? You won't see your family for a long time and you will be living with strangers?" Arthur told her.

She met his eyes for the first time. They were remarkably warm despite his angry scowl.  
"Has Mr. Cobb explained to you _my_ situation?" She asked him bravely.

The young man at her side nodded.

She shrugged.  
"I have no family anymore. My mother and father want nothing to do with me. I've shamed them." She explained.

"What about the father?" Arthur asked nodding to her body.

She took a deep breath. No one had asked about Jeffery since the affair.  
"We are... no longer acquainted." She whispered.

"Does he know about the baby?" Arthur asked.

"Yes."

"He's alright with you marrying another man?"

"Why shouldn't he be? _He's_ married." Ariadne shrugged and felt herself ready to cry.

"I apologize." Arthur said. His voice anything but apologetic. "I have to get these unpleasant questions out of the way. What were are about to do is lie. Do you understand? We are about to be married by a county clerk and Mr. Cobb is going to forge the dates on or marriage licensee so it will look like we've been married for a year. This is to ensure the legitimacy of your child and my place in the entail of my late relative, Lord Bradford. I can not inherit unless I'm married and I haven't the time or ambition to do that on my own. I need to know you are committed to this arrangement and that your lover will not come back into your life demanding you come away with him. I won't have my name scandalized because of some silly school girl whim." Arthur told her. "If you are to be my wife, then you will kept yourself respectable. You will be granted a fine home and comfort for you and your child. I will not deny the baby is mine. It will look better for us if people think it is. But I will not have a wife who feels the need to... give into her... needs... outside of our marriage. If you're that kind of girl, tell me now. They're will be no hard feelings. I'll pay for trip home and a small sum for your time. You're very attractive, I'm sure you will find your way."

Arthur looked at his prospective bride like he would a business partner. Was this not a business arrangement? Didn't women seek marriage as a lasting convince? This marriage bettered her more then it would him. She would be a fool to walk away now. She would be destitute if she did.

"Excuse me." She said standing up and leaving him.

~ "What did you do?" Cobb demanded as Ariadne rushed past him.

"I explained to her as plainly as I could what she would be in for." Arthur told his friend.  
"You scared her off." Cobb accused.  
"Did not." Arthur bit back.

"Did so."

"Not."

"Arthur, she's a lovely girl. She knows full well what she is doing. She is agreeing to give up everything she knows, to marry some stranger." Cobb insisted.  
"To save herself." Arthur remained him.  
"Don't ruin this." Cobb growled. "Your grandfather was crowded out of the family. He and your grandmother were treated like poor relations all their lives. They came to America with your father to make a better life. Now, think how proud they would be of you now. Taking over Blue Rivers, a beautiful lady on your arm and more money then those snobs had ever dreamed of."

Cobb set back and allowed the image to settle over Arthur's mind.  
"You don't have to love her. But you need her." Cobb said at last.

~ Ariadne washed her face in the neat little washroom. She carefully unpinned her large hat and looked over her reflection in the mirror. A worn, sad little face with eyes that were too big stared back at her.

'W_ho are you?_' She thought looking at that reflection.

Just three months ago, she had been a happy girl at her first teaching post. She was earning her own money and felt a raw, rush of independence at the idea she could do anything now.

Her mother and father had been so proud. She had done so well at finishing school and now she was a teacher to the daughters of the richest families in Philadelphia. They felt sure she would met a suitable and rich man by merely teaching his kid sister.

However, it was her dashing fellow teacher, Jeffery, who swept her off her feet and who she gave into so easily. The heat of the moment told her what to do, and she delighted in the forbidden love they shared. They continued their affair for several weeks before she found out she was in a family way.

Her world began crumbling down around her. She hoped Jeffery would be happy about it. He seemed to love her; seemed to care for her. But the instant she told him about the baby, he wanted nothing to do with her. She never knew he was even married until she told him about the child to be.

How stupid she had been. Falling in love? What was that? She had dreamed of marriage to Jeffery. A family and home of their own. Had she loved him? Surely it wouldn't hurt so much if she hadn't loved him.

"Ariadne?" Came a knock on the ladies wash room door. It was Mr. Cobb.

"Ariadne? Are you in there?" He asked.

"A moment please, Mr. Cobb." She called out.

She didn't bother repining the stupid hat. That hat was her mother's idea. The woman had been vain to the last.

She emerged meekly from the washroom to find Mr. Cobb waiting for her. She wished for the hundredth time it was Cobb she was supposed to marry and not Arthur.

"I'm sorry if Arthur upset you." Cobb said offering her his handkerchief.

She took it gratefully.

"He just wants you to know what you're getting into. Once this is done, it can't be undone." he said.

She nodded and sniffed.

"I can tell you Arthur is good man. He never drinks and doesn't go for lose women. He's very steady. You would have a boring... but stable life with him. All you have to do is play a part. That's all. Just smile and meet his friends. Do all the things you ladies do best." Cobb said with a charming grin.

"Like?" She asked worriedly. He thought going to what Arthur might expect from her as a husband. Especially when the lights were out.

"Why, you ladies make us look good. You keep us from making a fool of ourselves." Cobb smiled. "We men, we're lost with out the fairer sex. You know that."

Ariadne had to smile at that.  
"I can promise you he would never hurt you. If that's what you're worried about. He just isn't the type. If you find you truly can't stand him, you only have to see him at social engagements. You won't have to share his bed if you don't want to. You'll be in England. No one will think anything of it over there."

She sighed and nodded.

"Alright." She croaked at last.

~ The county clerk was an old man, and Ariadne suspected he might be somewhat senile. She suspected this was intentional as Cobb was quick to fill in the marriage license himself. The clerk not even looking it over as he scrawled his name. Not noticing the marriage date now said:

_September 1911_.

Just like that, in her dove gray traveling suit, her ridiculous hat her mother bought for her, she was a married woman.

Arthur had been gallantly holding her hand the whole of the ceremony. The 'I Dos' were terse and emotionless. Her new husband dropped her hand as soon as they were pronounced man and wife and he kissed her chastely on the cheek.

She steeled her spine and stood a little straighter. It was alright, she didn't believe in love anymore. This was a business arrangement. Arthur certainly seemed the type to honor his word. He would provided for her; for her child. That was all that she cared about.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

~ "Your clothes." Arthur observed as she unpacked. Her large traveling trunk was brought into the first class cabin of the ship they would be taking right from the train. She had arrived in New York, been married, and was now on a luxury cruise liner bound for England; all in just a few hours. Arthur had taken in upon himself to look through her simple wardrobe and seemed to disprove.

"What about them?" Ariadne snapped, feeling slightly insulted.

Her maid for the voyage to England had quickly fled the room as soon as Arthur had barged in without knocking.  
"They're out of style. Far too plain. We'll need to make port in Paris. Get you a few new things. I thought that finishing school would have taught you some sense of fashion at least." Arthur said cruelly.

"They most certainly did!" Ariadne snapped slamming her trunk shut and almost missing his long fingers.

"They taught us not to give into too trendy fashions and that a real lady with a sensible wardrobe is always in style." She told him. Channeling her teacher, the aged Miss Lowe, to perfection.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You'll fit in perfectly in England." He said and stalked away.

"We are having dinner with the Captain tonight, please dress suitably. That blue dress will have to do unless you have something better. I don't care if you are on trend or not. But I want my wife to at least look her part. You are now the lady to a great estate, dress like it." Arthur snapped before leaving her.

"Dress like it." Ariadne mimicked in a childish voice.

~ Beautiful bead worked dresses were the rage these days. Ariadne didn't posses anything so fine and elegant. As a teacher, she had been expected to dress more modestly. Her blue gown was the finest thing she owned and it was still very simple and plain. But it brought out the hue of her skin perfectly.

She sighed as she slipped on her dress and felt it was already too small in the bust and waist. She couldn't hide her condition for too much longer.

Then she glanced at the thin gold band on her ring finger and realized; she didn't have to. She was a married woman now. Married to a handsome, rich young man. It was everything she she had been trained for and had wanted.

~ Ariadne looked over her pitiful appearance one last time before leaving her private room. Arthur was waiting for her in the parlor and she felt her face blush hotly. He was dressed elegantly in a tuxedo. He looked like he had been born just to dress well. He was leaning casually against a table and impatiently waiting for her to come out.

She looked down at her simple blue dress.

"I'm sorry, I don't really have anything better." She explained feebly. "I've never been at an occasion to need anything nicer."  
"It's alright. You look..." Arthur smiled softly. His face becoming handsomer by the second. "You look lovely."

He shifted his weight off the table and stood. His height impressive as he walked to her.

"I thought about what you said; and you were right, I despise these trendy fashion get ups. It's much more suitable to have a few nice pieces." He said handing her a brightly decorated box. The wrapping was a shinny orange and it was too beautiful to tear open.  
"Open it." Arthur ordered.

"What is it?" She asked taking the package from him.

Arthur smiled.  
"Open it." He demanded softly.

Carefully, she unwrapped the box and revealed a layer of orange tissue paper. Under that, was a very fine, royal blue wrap that was beautifully peppered with bead work and sequins. All of the stitching was done to resemble flowers and it looked more like a work of art then anything she could wear.

"It's beautiful." She whispered.

"I thought it might dress you up a little." Arthur offered as he carelessly plucked it out of the box and laid it over her shoulders.

She felt warmer now. The thinly veiled insult of her clothing falling off her as Arthur's hands secured the magnificent wrap over her body.  
"It suits you." Arthur mused as he looked her over.

She blushed softly and smiled.

~ The _Mauretania_ was a regal beauty and Ariadne had never been overseas before. She had heard of getting sea sick, but the _Mauretania_ glided gracefully on the water without so much as an errant sway.

"She's the sister ship to _Lusitania_." Arthur explained as he walked her to the dinning room.

"It's just, after what happened to _Titanic_." She whispered as she looked at the elegant domed ceiling made of glass.

Arthur stiffened and nodded.

"I know you're worried, but don't be. After the disaster they outfitted all ships like these with more life boats and trained the staff better. They are more careful about ice warnings and I feel confident our Captain will be less complaisant. However, If there is an incident, we won't hesitate to get to the deck and in the life boats. Understand?" he told her. Ariadne nodded and gripped his arm tighter.

Arthur carried himself in such a way that she was proud to be seen with him. She felt better about being on board this great ship, so soon after _Titanic_, with him by her side.

The Captain was a kind man. Modest and pleasant to his guests. He seemed enraptured by Ariadne as she talked to him about art and history. All things she had been taught to speak of when in the company of men like him.

"I must congratulate you, Arthur. She is a splendid find." The Captain said after Ariadne had amused the whole table with her knowledge of French history.

"Thank you." Arthur said stiffly.  
"And to think, I never even knew you were engaged." A snobbish looking old woman with feathers in her head band exclaimed.

She was dressed in an evening gown suitable for a much younger woman, and it hung off her body unflattering.  
"Well, we despise the papers. So often they do these write ups just to sell things or advertise who was there and what they were wearing. It's so vulgar." Ariadne told her. "To be honest, I thought the countess' engagement and wedding was rather tacky. I mean the way it was all laid out in the times like it was. It struck me as much too showy and rude. No, my mother and I agreed that it was better to have a small, elegant affair at home. I didn't want the intimate details of my nuptials to be made so public." Ariadne said airily.

'_I can lie rather well._' She thought, feeling pleased.

She glanced at Arthur and couldn't decide from his expression if he was happy or angry with her. A certain flare was in his eyes just now.

The other guests were looking at him.

"Who was I to argue with my lovely bride? She certainly knows more about these things then I ever will. I only showed up at the alter and let her handle all the details." He said in a forced laugh.

"You are so right, dear!" The older lady exclaimed. "It was beyond reproach for the countess to splash the details of her wedding in the times. Why, they even said where her dress and cake came from! It might as well have been and advertisement!"

~ Ariadne was stiffening a little smile as Arthur took her back to their state room after dinner.  
"Are you angry?" She asked.  
"On the contrary." He laughed. "Mrs. Tatum seemed impressed with you. I was worried when she called out our marriage being so absent from the papers. The old bat watches society pages like a hawk. You handled the matter perfectly."

"Like a suitable lady should?" She prompted.

Arthur sighed.

"Yes. Like a suitable lady should." He admitted.

"I may have been plain, but at least I wasn't dressed as bad as her." Ariadne laughed and Arthur gave a low whistle and smiled.

"Promise me, when we're old and gray, you won't dress like that." Arthur said. A smile tugging on his lips.

"I promise nothing!" She grinned back mischievously.

They stood in their parlor room for several seconds before Arthur spoke.  
"I must leave you now. Colonel Forester will want to meet in the smoking room to talk business and politics." he said.

Ariadne nodded.

"Things that couldn't possibly interest ladies." She said sadly.  
"Not ladies of a great estate, no." He told her sadly. "Please, don't wait up for me. I would be happier knowing you were safely sleeping here, while I'm with the Colonel."

"Of course." She said automatically.

Arthur stepped to her and gave her a light kiss on her cheek.

She caught the faint scent of his cologne and her nose tried to hang onto it. But he pulled away and was gone.

~ "Did you have a good time at dinner, Missus?" Ariadne's maid asked as she prepared her mistress for bed.

"Yes, Maura." Ariadne told the maid; a girl barely sixteen.

"Your husband likes to spoil you, if it's not to forward to say." Maura commented as she wrapped Ariadne's new shawl back in the tissue paper and stowed it safely in the traveling trunk.

"It's not too forward." Ariadne said as she relaxed in bed with her notebook. She wanted to start writing her story about the gods who build cities. That morning in New York was now another life. Another person had watched those workers. She was a new person now. Someone who had a husband, who was respectable. Who would be the lady to a great estate.

She vaguely wondered if Arthur would return soon and if he would want to sleep with her. It was his right, as her husband, to demand these things. She couldn't refuse him. She wondered if he would be drunk when he came home and closed her eyes at the idea.

'_No, Cobb promised me he wasn't a drinker._' She reminded herself.

"May I bring you a cup of warm milk, Missus?" Maura asked hopefully. The young maid wanting to be helpful and gain a good reference.

"No thank you, Maura." Ariadne said feeling well cared for. "You may go to bed yourself. I'm sure Arthur will be up late with the Colonel."

Maura gave a little bow and left Ariadne alone.

Ariadne's thought briefly over her new life as she tried to fight sleep and failed. Her mind falling into dreams effortlessly as she waited for Arthur to come to her.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

~ In the morning, Ariadne woke to find herself in bed alone. She had slept peacefully, and hadn't been disturbed by any visitors.

It was still early morning when she left her room to find Arthur was sprawled out on the lounge sofa in the front parlor of their state rooms.  
"Arthur?" She said gently shaking him.

Her stranger of a husband roused himself awake and stared at her in surprise.

"It's Ariadne. Were on the ship. For England." She whispered as he no doubt wondered where he was.

Arthur groaned. He looked disheveled and sloppy. His tuxedo wrinkled as he had carelessly slept in it.  
"I let that Irishman talking me into a few drinks last night." He grumbled. "I haven't the knack for drinking."

"Arthur, you have to get off this sofa. Before Maura sees you." Ariadne hissed pulling on him. "We don't need anyone thinking we're not happily married. It's won't do to have you sleeping out here each night."

Arthur let her pull him to his feet. He was uncharacteristically clumsy as he followed her, puppy like, back to their bedroom.

He sat on her unmade bed and looked too tired and worn out to do anything for himself.

"Here, you're still dressed for dinner." She scolded him as she went to undo his dress shirt and cuff links.

"Alright, Woman!" He growled as he slapped her hands away and started to unfasten his own shirt. "I can manage."

There was a knock on the door and Arthur looked angry at the possible intrusion.

"Lay down!" Ariadne hissed at him.

"Madam?" came Maura's voice.

"Lay down!" Ariadne ordered Arthur as she pulled off his shinny dress shoes and covered him under her blankets.

She opened her door a crack and saw her maid looking bright and chipper.

"Oh, sorry to disturb you, only, I was wondering if you, or your mister, would be going to breakfast in the dinning room; or if you would like me to send something up." Maura asked.

Her eyes bright, as she was eager to please her new mistress.

"Oh, Maura." Ariadne said as Arthur rolled over in the bed. "How kind you are. Arthur is indisposed at the moment, I think a very light breakfast is all we need. Coffee and toast for him. Perhaps some tea and fruit for me? If it's not too much trouble?"

"Oh no trouble for you at all, Missus." Maura beamed at her. "I've noticed your Mister has left his jacket out here in the parlor, shall I send it to laundry?"

"Oh yes, Maura. Thank you so much for taking care of us. Arthur and I will stay in this morning so don't worry about a thing." Ariadne said as the little maid made a curtsey, and scurried out.

"That was very diplomatic." Arthur grumbled under the covers as Ariadne shut the door.

"Why do you say that?" Ariadne asked him.

"Covering up for your drunkard of a husband." Arthur said sitting up out of bed. He looked worn out and tired. "My marriage to you is proving to be a wise investment."

"I'm glad to hear it. And you're hardly a drunkard. I'm sure I went to school with girls who could hold their liquor better then you." She snapped as she went to his closet and retrieved fresh clothes for him.  
"I'm sure you did." Arthur said halfheartedly. "You'll have to excuse me, _Madam_, if I'm not used to drinking. I find it a filthy habit. Very low class. But, on my wedding day to a total stranger," He waved a hand to her. "It seemed like a good time to take it up."

"You didn't tell the Colonel about my being a total stranger, did you?" She asked as she pulled out clean socks and started to run a hot bath for him.

"Oh no, I had to hear about how wonderful you were. How beautiful and how perfect you will be at Blue Rivers. The Colonel can't wait for our first party." Arthur told him as he slowly sat up.

"Well, it's the roles we agreed to play, isn't it?" Ariadne said coming back to the bedroom. "So long as you mentioned nothing about how we met, I'm certain we'll fool them all."

"I didn't say a word about it." Arthur promised. "I _did_ tell them we were expecting though."

"What?" Ariadne said and stepped away from him in shock.

Arthur sank back in the bed; looking deflated.

"They were going on and on about how wonderful a match we were. I thought it was best to do the thing right." He admitted shamefully.

"Arthur, now everyone on the ship will know! What were you thinking?" She barked. She stormed away from him and turned off the hot water to his bath.  
"I was thinking... for just a moment, I was a married man who was expecting a child. I was playing the role. Remember? I'm _supposed_ to be a proud expectant father. Happy. We're supposed to act _happy_!" He shouted at her as he stripped off his shirt and threw it to the floor.

"I don't need you creating more work for Maura!" Ariadne shouted at him as she plucked his nice dress shirt off the floor and gathered his other discarded clothing.

She didn't look at her half naked husband as she shut the door on his changing for his bath and left the room.

Ariadne tried to fight off her tears as she folded his tuxedo for the laundry. She hadn't bothered to dress yet. She was a lady of leisure now, and didn't have to be on time for class anymore. She was now a lady who was in a delicate condition. A fact that was known all over the ship, thanks to Arthur. She would not be expected to be out and about in her fragile state.

~ Maura set a breakfast table for them as best she could. She was not a properly trained ladies maid, but was the best that could be arranged on such sort notice. Ariadne schooled her gently on the proper way to lay flatware as Arthur dressed himself after his bath. Ariadne had barely gotten herself dressed by the time Maura arrived with their breakfast.

"I'll do better, Missus." Maura promised.

"Maura, I know your trying." Ariadne said. "It's not easy doing a job you're not trained for. I'll help you as best I can."

"You're a true lady, Missus. I knew it the second I saw you. You don't need to pretend to be one, you just are." Maura said brightly.

"That's very kind, Maura." Ariadne said feeling herself smile for the first time that day. "Would you please have Arthur's tuxedo aired out and cleaned? He may need it tonight. Then make sure you eat something. I don't think we'll need you till lunch."

"Yes, Missus." Maura said and left the room as soon as Arthur stalked back in. He looked as grumpy as ever.

"The help seems to like you to." He mused as Ariadne poured him his coffee.

She took a moment to steal a glance at her husband. He was dressed nicely once more. A bath doing wonders to erase all he had done last night. He looked clean and very well to do in a brown, full on suit.

She shook her head and ignored her appreciation for his appearance.

"You had no right right telling people I was pregnant." She whispered even thought Maura was gone.

Arthur said nothing as he watched her prepare his coffee.

"I know. I'm sorry." He said. He looked up at her with sad eyes that she refused to meet.

"It's just... I don't know what happened. The other men were congratulating me. They were talking about their sons and grand sons. About their plans for the future. It just slipped out." He tried to explain.

"We didn't even know each other yesterday. Now, everyone knows our personal business. You can understand why I'm upset." Ariadne said as she sipped her tea and cut up an apple.

"Let me do that." Arthur said snatching her fruit away. He cut her apple into segments and placed them neatly on a plate.

They ate in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry I yelled this morning. It won't happen again. I'm not used to being around women, and this situation has me... confused on how to act." He said at last.

"I don't know if this is going to work." Ariadne said sadly.

"Ariadne, it's too late for that. The most important people know about us. Know about the baby. It's too late to back out now." He said leaning across the table.

She said nothing and tried to hold the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I truly am. But the news would have come out soon anyway." Arthur consoled her.

"I know." She admitted sadly. "We're stuck now. Aren't we?"

Arthur leaned away from her. He looked insulted.  
"I think you need to put in an appearance at lunch. The cafe on the boat deck? Let the woman fawn over you? You might like it." Arthur suggested hopefully.

Ariadne nodded.

Arthur sat a little stiffer and didn't look at her as he spoke.

"I have to ask, why I didn't before was an oversight on my part. The natural father, did he... looks wise, did he resemble me at all? It's necessary that this child be passable as my own." Arthur said returning to his coffee.

Ariadne looked at her husband. That businessman in him coming back out again. The cold, distant man she had forgotten lurked inside him.

Jeffery, was a sweet man with wavy brown hair and brown eyes. He was scores handsomer then Arthur. Much more sensitive to women and had a better smile.

Her baby, _Jeffery's_ baby, would be too beautiful to be mistaken for Arthur's progeny.

She only nodded.

"Good." Arthur sighed in relief. "I won't ask you anymore about that matter. No need to burden you, or upset you in your condition. It's important that this child will not look anything less then our own working. We can't have a scandal." Arthur said briskly as he ate his toast and drank his coffee.

He looked over his paper before adding.

"In Paris, we can get you new clothes and a new maid. I don't care for Maura. She's too young and isn't properly trained. It will be more fashionable to have a French maid for your needs."

"Maura is going to stay with us." Ariadne informed her husband. "I've grown very fond of her and I think she will suit very nicely."

Arthur sat his cup down.  
"Ariadne, she is not trained to be a ladies maid. You will need a special maid to take care of your clothes and your hair. A ladies maid must be on par with the lady herself. Maura is too low class." Arthur told her patiently.

"Arthur, I want Maura. I like Maura and that's the end of it. If I'm to meet your friend's wives and daughters, and have them fawn over me, I want to come home to a maid a like and trust. I don't care if she isn't trained. I'll train her myself. I was a teacher, remember?" Ariadne snapped and sat down her tea cup harder then she should have.  
"Ariadne." He started to say.  
"Arthur, I'm willing to pretend to be your wife. I'll pretend to be in love with you. To have my child have your name. But I have to be around someone genuine. I'm moving to another country and I won't be totally alone."


	5. Chapter 5

5.

~ Ariadne wasn't sure where her new resolve had come from. Where this steel that gripped her spine and grew, had originated. Arthur declared he didn't want to argue about it and she could do as she wished. But not to complain to him if Maura turned into the disaster she was doomed to be.

Before going to lunch, Ariadne wrote a letter to her mother.

_Mother,_

_ A am well. Arthur and I are on the most beautiful ship in the world and sailing to a new life together. Last night before dinner with the captain, he gave me a lovely wrap with bead work on it. I think it is so fashionable and will be suitable for any occasion. Ms. Lowe would approve. _

_ Arthur is a very fine man and is pleased with me. He is aware of my situation and accepts it without prejudice. He as true gentleman. I could not have been matched to a finer man, despite my disadvantages. _

_ I know you and Daddy are still cross with me, but I think this will work out for the best. Please write to me when you can. Tell Daddy I love him. I am to be in a new country and it may be a long time before we see each other again. _

_ Ariadne. _

She sealed the envelope and took it herself to the mail room. Her parents told her not to bother writing, they were so ashamed of her, but she couldn't bare not communicating with them.

~ The ladies at the boat deck cafe swarmed around her like bees to honey.

"To think! You and Arthur, barely a year and already expecting!" mused a plump old maid of 35. "How exciting it must be to start a new life, in a new country, with a new baby!"

"Oh... well... yes." Ariadne blushed as the woman all asked her questions about what color of nursery she would have, and they discussed at length the qualities to look for an a nanny.

"One can not be too careful." An elderly woman said stiffly. "The nanny you chose will be caring for the infant at all times. You must make sure she is free of illness or personality defects.

"Same with a wet nurse." another matron like woman added. "You can't be too careful."

"I don't see myself employing a wet nurse." Ariadne told the group.

She had expected a shocked silence, and wasn't disappointed.  
"It's not really done in America. Not these days." She told the group with a shrug.

"Why, my dear. You_ must_ have a wet nurse. Think of the inconvenience. Every time the baby cries, you will..." An older woman started to say and then lost her nerve.

"It's not seemly to have you in that state." Another lady agreed.  
"I am aware of the inconvenience. Having a baby is very inconvenient. But I am going to be nursing my own child." Ariadne assured the group.

~ Feeling defeated, Ariadne returned to her sate room. Arthur was reading on the private promenade and went to meet her.  
"How was lunch with the ladies?" He asked as she felt very winded.

"I survived." She told him.

"Sit down." He ordered her. "You look tired."

"I _feel_ tired." She admitted and sat on the chase lounge before the fire. "They talked about my hiring a wet nurse and were shocked when I said I wouldn't have one."

"What's a wet nurse?" Arthur asked as he slipped off her shoes and sat them gently on the floor.  
"It's a woman we would hire to breast feed the baby." Ariadne explained.

She waited in delight for the expression that would show on his face. Like the ladies at lunch, she wasn't disappointed.

"Oh." Was all he said and flushed red. "I... um... I didn't know that..." He cleared his throat. "Well, whatever you need... when the time comes, we will arrange it."

"I'm not getting a wet nurse. It's nonsense. Hiring another woman to nurse your own child is silly. I could understand if the mother is too sick, but that is not going to be the case." Ariadne told.

"If society expects it-" Arthur tired to tell her.  
"No." Ariadne cut him off.

He looked over her for a long time before seeming to come back to reality. Ariadne felt herself flush as his eyes lingered over her face. She remained motionless and let him gaze at her.

He cleared his throat.  
"Well, men have very little say in these matters. I'll leave it up to you. For now, I would like you to take a nap, and have you at your best for supper tonight." He said placing a blanket over her body for warmth. "We'll be having dinner with the Colonel and his wife."

"Alright." She said meekly as her husband smoothed his jacket and silently left her.

~ Arthur almost skipped down to the smoking lounge. He felt... happy. It was an usual feeling for him. He had been with women before, but not like this. All his life, he felt people were judging him; now they looked at him differently. As though he had accomplished something, when all he did was get married. With a wife by his side, people looked at him as if he was worth more. They looked at him, not as the businessman with the self made empire. Not as the young man with a poor immigrant father. He was someone worthy of a bride. A lovely lady had deemed him good enough to marry. This elevated him to a new standing in society that no amount of money could do.

People liked Ariadne. They found her witty and engaging. She was pretty and would fit well into his world. She had a few rough edges, but he would pick his battles on that. The maid, for example, was doomed to fail. It was a lesson she would learn on her own.

He also felt very content knowing she was upstairs sleeping right now. That she was safely in their state room and would be ready to make him look good for diner tonight.

The other men in the smoking lounge greeted him warmly for the first time ever. His advice on politics were listened to and debated. His business plans were talked about and he even met new contacts to help him expand his empire.

His marriage of convenience had proved a very wise move indeed.

~ Ariadne didn't like to be told what to do. At least, not normally. Arthur telling her to take a nap and leaving her, made her want to rebel and go off on some grand adventure. But the lunch with the ladies had taken too much out of her. She was very upset to wake up an hour or so later on the sofa. Feeling better and ready to dress for dinner.

"Missus, a package arrived for you." Maura said coming into the dressing room.

Ariadne scowled over another brightly wrapped orange box. It was wrapped in the same packaging as he lovely shawl from dinner last night.

She opened it to reveal a plum colored dress with blood red bead work. It wasn't overly embellished. Mainly the collar was richly done. The rest was a flowing silk fabric the made the dress almost regal looking.

"Oh, Missus." Maura breathed. "Your Mister is too kind. Too kind to be sure."

Ariadne smiled as she found a little note tucked into the box.

_Ariadne,_

_I know you disapprove of these modern dresses, but I couldn't resist. _

_If you'll be kind enough to wear it, I would love to see you at dinner with the Colonel and his wife._

_Arthur_

Ariadne blushed hard and smiled.

"Help me dress Maura!" She said excitedly.

Again, the bust was a little tight, but that was to be expected. It was the nicest dress she had ever worn. It felt heavy and she had to walk around the room to get the feel of it.

"Oh Missus!" Maura cried. "You look so elegant."

"Maura, I want you to go to be early tonight. Arthur and I will be late coming in." Ariadne said and rushed out of her state room.

She felt odd going to the dining room alone. Other men were looking appreciatively at her as she made her way down the grand staircase.

At the formal dinning room, she spotted her party and an usher guided her to the table. Her husband's slicked back hair was visable as he had his back to her.

What must have been Colonel Forester and his wife looked up in amazement at her. The Colonel standing and taking her hand.

"So delighted to meet you at last!" He said cheerily.

It was then Ariadne noticed her husband.

~ Arthur stood at the sight of his lady. She looked heavenly in the gown he had bought at the little on board dress shop. He couldn't say no to the expensive gown that stood in the window. He had to have it for her. He had to have his wife dressed so elegantly in the dark hues and fancy bead work. Her chest was swelling out of the scooped neckline, but this only made her look more desirable.

He pulled out a chair for his wife and she gracefully sat beside him.  
"Thank you." She said to him as he sat by her again.

The evening passed too quickly as the party spoke of books, news and the even politics. Arthur was pleased his wife had a fair knowledge, but expressed no opinion on politics. Just like a well brought up lady should.

~ "You were wonderful tonight." He whispered as he took her back to their state room.  
"Thank you. And thank you for the dress." She told him. She was feeling tired already.  
"I saw it, and I had to see it on you." Arthur explained as he held the door open for her.

"I think it impressed your friends." She told him as they were alone in their state room at last.  
"I didn't care about my friends. _I_ wanted to see it on you." Arthur assured her.

He marched to her and, in a few easy steps, she was in his arms. His lips so close to hers she could smell the bourbon.  
"Arthur, you've been drinking." She whispered.

"Not that much." He told her mouth as his lips gently nipped hers. "The way these social climbers drink, it's a wonder they get anything done."

"I should go to bed." She said trying to shift out of his arms. He held her tighter. "You're friends are waiting for you in the smoking lounge." She said trying to escape his suddenly strong grasp.

"I won't be going back down to play nice with the the other trust fund millionaires." He said as he nuzzled her hair.

Her head began to rush and she felt dizzy as his breath tripped over her skin.

"Arthur." She whispered as he held her tighter.  
"I'm planning on staying with you tonight. I'm planning on staying with my wife." He said as she felt his lips leaving a hot, wet trial up her exposed skin.  
"Arthur, you really shouldn't." She said feeling panicked as tried to push him away.

Her husband would have none of this.  
"Let's go to bed." He said as his breath tickled her ear. "I've been thinking it's time, we consummate our little_ sham_ marriage."

That steel she had been growing in her sprouted a new power, and she found the strength and courage to slap him.

The contact of her hand to his face was hard and unforgiving.

Arthur let her go and stumbled clumsily back onto the sofa.

"Stay away form me. You're drunk." She hissed at him.

Arthur was breathing hard as he looked up at her.

"Don't act all innocent, _madam_." he said in a low, dangerous voice. "We both know your not exactly pure."

"That may be true, but I still have standards. I won't go to bed with a drunk who thinks he can buy me with some expensive dress." She snapped.  
"I _did_ buy you. I bought you with a wedding band and I have a legal right to take my wife to bed any time I desire her." Arthur growled and stood up. "You would be little better then a maid or governess without me, wouldn't you? Caring for another man's bastard, as you scrubbed floors or did laundry. You should be damn grateful I came along."

"Stop it!" Ariadne suddenly cried.

~ Arthur found he was sobering up quickly. His lovely Ariadne was standing in that beautiful dress, and she was crying.

"I'm sorry." He said suddenly. He realized he had crossed a line. He wasn't supposed to bring up her misdeeds and they were supposed to play a happy couple. She had lived up to her end splendidly, but he was failing.

"Ariadne, I'm sorry." He said stupidly.

"Please leave." She cried. Her composure cracking.

"Ariadne." He tried to approach her again.

"Leave!" She cried out.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

~ Arthur walked the almost empty boat deck. The night was bone cold as he watched the stars. More stars then he had ever seen before were out in the middle of the North Atlantic. He thought of his distant cousin and his son on _Titanic_. A night much like this, so calm and peaceful as thousands died in the cold sea.

He thought of his father, a little boy on a big steamer; bound for the new world. His grandparents dieing of cholera and their bodies cast into the ocean. A tragedy no less profound then the deaths on _Titanic_. His grandparents had not been rich. They were not even granted house room at Blue Rivers. Now, their grandson was set to return to the family home. A rich man with a beautiful wife.

He should be happy. He should be very proud of himself.

Yet his heart was hurting. Was he the kind of man his father and grandfather would be proud of? How he had treated Ariadne tonight; was that the kind of man he was now?

~ Ariadne stripped off that masterpiece of a dress and climbed into bed with nothing but her under garments on. Her skimpy clothing poorly protecting her from the chill in the air as she tried to warm herself under the covers.

What Arthur had said was heartbreaking. Mainly because it was all true. She would be destitute if is wasn't for him. It was a stroke of good luck that providence had prevailed, and found a man willing to take her. Any man, let alone a wealthy one. She should be willing to give into his every whim and be grateful he wanted her at all.

She was too cold to sleep till she heard her husband come back in their state room. She huddled still and quite in the bed as he turned on the light and saw she was awake.

"Why is it so cold in here?" He asked. A puff of white coming off his breath.  
"I sent Maura to bed early. I guess she forgot to light the fire and I don't know how." Ariadne explained from her coverings.

"It's colder in here then outside." Arthur fumed as he went to the tiny fireplace across their bed.

In an instant, the room was much warmer. She watched her husband kneel by the gas fire and warm his hands. The fire light playing over his handsome face in the dark room.

"Thank you." Ariadne said from the bed. Her feet sticking out and warming themselves as best they could.

"When I was little, it was my job to bring in the wood and build the fire. My Dad was holding down about three jobs. My mother took in sewing and laundry. I had to be the man of the house while he was at work." Arthur explained as he watched the flames.

"I thought your family had money." She said.

She gave up on waiting for the bed to grow warm and took herself, and her blanket, to the fire place.

Arthur chuckled and shook his head.

"When my father arrived in America, he was only ten years old. His parents, my grandparents, had died on the crossing. He had nothing, and was all alone in America. He wasn't able to go to school, but he worked hard. He and my mother worked hard for me to become something. We lived in a small apartment, all of us. My dad died just before I graduated from college. My mother died a year before."

"They never saw how successful you became." Ariadne commented.

Arthur nodded.

"They were proud of me. I know that. My father told me so everyday. He bragged about everything I did." Arthur said as he rubbed his hands over the fire.

"I thought you were to inherit a large estate." Ariadne said looking confused. "If your family didn't come from money..." She pondered.  
"They came from money. Old money. It's the archaic system of first born sons. My grandfather was the youngest of three sons. He had no place in the family. He and his wife were not even granted house room at Blue Rivers. So, they took what little they had, along with their son, and went to America." He explained.

"Now, you're coming back to show them all what a success the forgotten family has become." She finished.  
"Exactly." Arthur said with a smile. "I want to be lord of that house because my grandfather and father were simply cast aside and forgotten."

They watched the fire dance for a while in silence.

"Arthur, I'm sorry I hit you. You were right, you _do_ have your... privileges. I would be destitute without you." Ariadne said screwing up her courage. She held her blanket tighter around her. Covering the skimpy under clothes she wore.

"Don't make me feel like what I did was right." Arthur snapped. "I was drinking, I wasn't myself."

He turned to her and stared at her face for a long time.

"This world of privilege, it had my head so puffed up... I wasn't thinking straight. I began to think I was invincible. I could have anything I could touch. You made me feel that way; like I was special. I had no right to force you. I just looked at you and was so proud you were mine." he admitted soberly. "I mean, that you were _with_ me. It all went to my head. I'm sorry."

She ran a hand over his dinner jacket. She could feel the cold of the night air still on the fabric.  
"Arthur, come to bed." She whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

~ She watched him slip out of his dinner clothes as she settled back down between the blankets. It felt strange to have Arthur in bed with her. She was not innocent to what men and women did while they were alone; her disgraceful pregnancy proved that. But Arthur was still a stranger to her. Her feelings to him were still new.

But he was her husband, and if he wanted her, she had to submit to him. Her lot in life could be much worse.

She shyly watched him undress. He set his clothing carefully on the back of a chair and stripped himself down to thin undergarments. Ariadne had never given much thought to the underthings men wore. Jeffery had always been naked so fast with her, she didn't question it.

She watched as her husband slipped into bed next to her and put out the light.

"Are you warm enough?" He asked as she cuddled into his body. Their bed was small, just barley large enough for the both of them. It demanded that they sleep close together.

"Yes." She squeaked as she felt his cold feet touch hers.  
"Your feet are cold." She whispered in the darkness.

Arthur chuckled softly.  
"I was out walking along the boat deck." He admitted.

"In this chill?" She said in shock.

"My wife was a little mad at me." He whispered.  
"Well she's not mad anymore. And she doesn't want you dieing of pneumonia. No more going out in the cold air like that." Ariadne chastised.

"Yes, Dear." Arthur mumbled as he kissed her forehead.

She bit her lip and tried to keep at bay the flutters of happiness that took wing in her body.

It felt marvelous to be in this bed with Arthur just now. His long, lean body fitting perfectly and protectively with hers. She breathed in his natural smell and buried her face deeper into his chest.

"Did you want to... I mean were you wanting..." Ariadne said spoiling the moment of peace.  
"Did you want to?" Arthur asked.  
"It's not for me to say." She whispered.

"Of course it is." Arthur said. "I'm not going to have relations with an unwilling partner."

"I'm your wife." Ariadne mewed up at him.  
"Ariadne, I was wrong to try and force you tonight. I had too much to drink. It will never happen again. When you're ready, it will happen. Not a moment sooner." He breathed as he held her closer.

She wanted to say how much she wanted him just then. But some strange sense of fear gripped her tightly and wouldn't let her go.

"Good night." She whispered.

"Good night." He said softly back.

~ Ariadne had always imagined that sleeping with a man would be more romantic then the reality proved to be. When she was still in school, she would wonder late at night, about her future husband. About his arms holding her as she fell into peaceful dreams. How he would smell and how they would wake up at the same time and looking lovingly into each others eyes.

However, the real world of sharing a small bed with a man was different then the fantasy. Arthur snored slightly and kicked. He shifted his body too much and she was woken several times in the night.

She couldn't find a comfortable spot to sleep in his arms like she planed, and ended up facing away from him slightly.

In the morning, he was awake before her and bathed and shaved himself while she slept.

"Morning." He smiled at her as sunlight trickled in their window.

"Morning." She said weakly.

"Tomorrow we'll be in Paris." Arthur said leaning over to kiss her cheek. "What would you like to do today?"

"Don't you have to socialize with the businessmen?" She asked sitting up and holding her covers over her body. Her thin under garments not protecting her delicate flesh from Arthur's eyes.

"No." He responded curtly as he dressed himself. "I'm done with them. I hate social climbers."

"So what now?" She asked.  
"Well, we can explore the ship if you like. Whatever you want." Arthur told her.

~ In the end, the couple stayed in their cabin and kept to themselves. Arthur read the paper in bed with her as she wrote her story.  
"I didn't know you liked to write." He said casually as she explained the plot of her new story.

"It keeps me entertained." Ariadne said with a shrug. "So many novels are about love. Finding a husband and that sort of thing. It's all romance. Not one book will tell you what to do once you've found love. I think your just supposed to curl up and die after your married. It's what society expects." She said sadly.

"Society is demanding and unforgiving." Arthur mused as he looked over the stock market. "It's the gilded cage we've made for ourselves."

"If we were brave enough, we could live without it." Ariadne told him.

"I'm afraid no man is that brave. My business depends on my reputation." Arthur told her.

"I guess we'll have to settle on fooling them." She said.

"Precisely, we'll look out for each other. It's like walking into the lion's den here. Once we get to Blue Rivers, it will be worse. We shall be the only Americans there and whats left of the family won't trust us. We can only trust each other." He said.

She smiled at that idea. Arthur could be a powerful alley in this world of proper ladies who would cut out her heart out if they ever suspected her fall from grace.

She looked over her husband. When he wasn't laced up in his finery, he looked almost normal. His long legs stretched out on the bed. His fine brown eyes reading over the paper.

She shifted in their bed and sat in front of him. His eyes ignoring her as he was transfixed on some article.

"Would you let me read your work one day?" He asked.  
"Maybe." She said casually as her fingers went to the ties of her undershirt. Her vulnerable skin barely hidden under it.

"Will we be having dinner with the Colonel and his wife?" She asked nonchalantly as she slipped the thin white cotton off her head. Her bare breasts now exposed. Arthur didn't notice as he kept reading.

"If you like, I suppose we can go to dinner. I'd prefer to stay in." He said. His face obscured by the paper as she sifted out of her thin, cotton panties. Her naked body sitting lady like in front of him now.

"Well, it's just as well. I have _nothing_ to wear anyway." She said casually.

"We can find something for you." Arthur said as he kept his paper up.  
"I suppose I could always go in this. Although it might cause a scandal." She said.

Arthur lowered his paper to finally see her. His face turned bright red as his eyes took in ever inch of her body.

She smiled sweetly at him and proudly, sat a little straighter.

"I think it would cause a riot." Arthur breathed at last.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

~ Ariadne bit her lip and tried not to smile as her husband cast his newspaper aside.

"I don't think that outfit will suit at all, madam." he said as his long arms suddenly took hold of her and pulled her to him.

His lips were on hers in an instant. Her husbands shushing her giggles as he rolled her under him. His lips attacking her fair skin as he dextrously pulled off his casual clothing.

She helped him by undoing the small buttons on his shirt as he couldn't seem to stop kissing her. His hands smoothing out her hair as he looked longingly into her face.  
"When I first saw you. I thought you were so beautiful." He whispered.

"And now?" She breathed as he shifted out of his pants. His foreign skin coming into contact with her. The feel of his forbidden maleness so close to her now, it sent a shiver of fear through her body.

"Now?" Arthur said with a smile as his hand cupped her breast. "Now, I know you're beautiful."

Ariadne gave herself to him. Their coupling simple and unhurried. Their kiss perfect in timing and rhythm and he lavished her flesh with pleasures she was not expecting.

With Jeffery, it had always been his needs and wants. Ariadne had no idea relations with a man could be so enjoyable. Her mind seemed like it was in a fog as her husband's hands guided her, and his body took hers.

She never felt more alive as her desire suddenly blazed hot and crazed as he entered her.

"It's alright." He whispered in her ear as she involuntarily tried to buck away at the invasion of male in her most sacred place.

He kissed her sweetly as his hips moved and made her body keep rhythm with him.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered as he laid protectively over her body. His lips never breaking from their exploration of her skin.

~ "We need to decide what to call each other." Ariadne whispered to him in the stillness of their consummated marriage bed.  
"What do you mean?" He said into her hair.

Arthur liked the smell of her hair. Her locks were long and scented with rose water. She smelled deliciously female and he could breath her in all day.

"I mean endearments." Ariadne said into his chest. Her light, little fingers playing over his flesh that made it easier for him to wrap his arms around her.

Arthur said nothing and he enjoyed the feel of her soft, rich body next to his.

"I know you prefer to call me 'madam' when you're cross with me." She continued.  
"I have yet to be cross with you." Arthur interrupted.  
"I disagree." Ariadne mused and went on. "We need something for when you're very pleased with me."

"I'm not sure I'd be good with endearments." Arthur whispered. His large hand running up her hip. Soaking in the feel of her silk like skin.  
"How about 'dearest' or something silly like that?" Ariadne asked.  
"Is that what your mother and father called one another?" He asked her.

"No, they rarely spoke directly to each other." Ariadne said sadly. "It wasn't fitting at their age to acknowledge one another."

Arthur thought back to his own parents. How they had loved each other.

"Sometimes, my father and mother would be home together and we would eat a small meal in front of the fire." Arthur mused. "We would talk and when he talked to her, he called her darling."

Arthur shook his head. His memory shaking off him as well. Days when he was happy and innocent to the harshness of the world.  
"It always made her smile. When he called her darling." Arthur said wistfully. "I always remembered that."

"I like that. I like _Darling_." Ariadne whispered.  
"Very well, you're a 'darling'. But only when I'm very happy to see you. Otherwise, if it gets over used, it mean nothing." He told her with a grin.  
"Alright. So, it's 'madam' when annoyed or angry, and 'darling' for when your feeling especially fond of me. What about for everyday?" She asked.

Their finger's locked together as they thought.

"Your name won't suit. It wouldn't be proper. How about sweet-pea?" He asked.

"No!" Ariadne said pulling a disgusted face.

Arthur laughed.

"Alright, I guess we can do better." Arthur mused. "What will you call me?" he asked.

"I should think 'dear', for when I'm cross or I need something done." Ariadne mused. "Perhaps 'my love' for when I'm pleased with you?"

"I suppose 'my love' will do. Although I'm sure I won't hear it much in our marriage; so it doesn't really matter." Arthur teased.

"Careful, my love." Ariadne warned. "It won't do to anger your new bride."

"You're absolutely right, darling." Arthur said with a mischievous grin as he kissed her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part II.**

**The Gilded Cage**

1.

~ They arrived in France the next morning. Maura could barely contain her excitement at being hired on as a full time ladies maid to Ariadne. Her nerves getting the better of her as she was prone to dropping things and forgetfulness.  
"I tried to warn you." Arthur grumbled as their driver had to help Maura with the luggage.

Ariadne only smiled as she looked out at the vastly beautiful country.

The couple enjoyed a long drive in a regal automobile until they reached Paris. A place groaning with style and fashionable people.

~ Arthur chose to accompany his wife on her excursions to ladies clothing boutiques. He didn't trust her on the serious matter of selecting a new wardrobe.  
"No. Nothing with those horrible flowers!" He barked at the sales ladies as they showed Ariadne stylish gowns. Silk flowers hanging off the shoulders.

"Bring us something basic and clean looking. I won't have you casting off your fashion duds on us." He told the shop owners.  
"Dear, I'm perfectly capable of handling this matter." Ariadne told him in a irritated tone.  
"I'm sure you are, _Madam_." Arthur grumbled.

~ In the end, her trip to Paris was not nearly as pleasurable as she had hoped. Arthur's interests were not congruent with hers, and it cause conflict right away.

"Arthur, when will we be in Paris again?" Ariadne said hopefully. "These are so many fabulous museums here. We would regret not going while we're here."

"I have never cared for museums or art. Art is too subjective these days. Any hack with a paint brush and few gullible followers can call himself an artist." Arthur said bitterly as he read an American newspaper.

"Damn Rockefeller." He grumbled as he looked over an article.  
"Arthur, I wanted to spend a nice day out with my husband. Is it too much to ask?" Ariadne snapped as she realized she wasn't going to see any museums or art galleries on their trip to Paris.

"We can go out. Just not to places that don't interest me." Arthur told her.  
"Well, these places interest _me_." Ariadne almost cried.

"Madam, I am not the sort of man who gives into whining and complaining. I said I will not be going to these museums and that will be the end of the discussion!" Arthur said stiffly.

~ It was a rainy morning when Arthur left the hotel room. He had mentioned something about an automobile and learning to drive. He had greatly enjoyed the drive into Paris and, like all men, wanted to operate the loud obnoxious contraption on his own.  
~ "Missus, are you _sure_ you want to go out alone? It isn't seemly." Maura fretted as Ariadne dressed in her dove gray traveling suit. The obnoxious hat perched worryingly lose on her head.  
"I won't be going alone, you'll be my company, Maura." Ariadne said briskly.  
"But Missus; your husband." Maura fretted. Her eyes wide.  
"Maura, you have the chance to see the finest art work in the world. You should be excited." Ariadne snapped as her maid followed her out into the streets of Paris.

"I am Missus. I just don't think your mister would approve you leaving the hotel without him." Maura said as she tried to match Ariadne's willful stride.

"Nonsense. I'm not a child. Come along Maura!" Ariadne called.

Her maid dutifully followed her mistress as the rain set in over the city.

Ariadne had excelled in French while she was at school. However, the natives spoke the language with an accent that made her resort to guessing what they said most of the time.

She got lost several times and had to hail a cab to take the both of them to some of the oldest art galleries and museums. Maura seemed intimidated by the large art work that stood proudly on the the walls. Ariadne pointing out the painting of French kings and queens.  
"Marie Antoinette." Ariadne told her maid as they past a flattering painting of the controversial queen. "She brought the famous croissant to France from her homeland in Austria."

"I thought the croissant_ was_ French." Maura said wonderment.

"It is now." Ariadne whispered. "She was just a teenager when she was sent from her home to France. She was in an arranged marriage to her husband. The future king. They had never even met when she was married to him."

"Oh imagine. Leaving all you've ever know to marry some strange man." Maura whispered as she looked at the paintings.

Ariadne looked sadly up at the large painting and said nothing.

~ It was late evening when Ariadne and Maura finally made it back to the hotel. She had stayed until the museums were about to close, part of her a little afraid to find out what Arthur would say about her adventure. She didn't have long to wonder as a police constable was waiting with her husband in the sitting room of their hotel suite.

"There you are." Arthur said. His anger barely concealed behind a thin layer of composure.

"Are you quite alright, Madame?" The police officer asked kindly. His English broken, but decent. "Your husband was very worried."

"Oh yes." Ariadne said with a forced smile as Maura snuck away. "Yes, I was with my maid today and we went to some art museums." She said avoiding Arthur's stern face.

She could feel her husband's cold eyes on her.  
"We have been looking for you, we are glad to see you are alright." The officer said a made a little bow.

"Thank you officer." Arthur said curtly. "I won't need to file a missing persons report after all."

"We are just happy the lady is home safe." The officer said and gave Arthur a nod and a little smile.

Arthur looked livid as the police man left and they were alone.

Ariadne stood as still as possible in the sitting room. Her husband not saying a word as he went to the fire and looked at the flames.

The silence was even more unbearable then any yelling.

"I don't need to call you '_madam_', for you to know how upset I am right now." Arthur said softly. His voice like the edge of a very sharp knife.

She found she was shaking slightly.

"No. You don't." She told him.  
"You and Maura went to museums on your own. You are in a delicate condition, and you were out on the streets of Paris all alone." He said gravely.

She wasn't sure what to say, so she said nothing.

"You never gave it a thought. You went with the wind, didn't you?" Arthur huffed.  
"I wanted to see some of the sights. You didn't want to go, so I went with my maid. I was never alone." Ariadne said steeling her spine.

"I came back to our rooms to find you gone. I had to call the police and then they had to find someone who spoke English, just so I could report that my wife had run off to God knows where. I've been worried out of my mind that you had been kidnapped and the worst part of it is; you showing up alive and well. If you had been kidnapped; that would have been excusable, but not this, Ariadne. _Not this_. You humiliated me by running off through the streets of Paris behind my back. You did it intentionally to defy me, and I will not stand for it." He snarled.

She was shaking now as he gave his speech. Her steel vanishing as she couldn't help but be afraid of Arthur.  
"I'm sorry." She said at last.

"That's not god enough." Arthur fumed. "We agreed. Did we not? We agreed you would keep my name above scandal."

"Arthur." She said. At last finding her voice.

He looked at her. His jaw shifting with pent up rage.

"Was I to stay locked in this hotel room for our visit to Paris? Am I to only go out whenever and to wherever you say? I am your wife, I am not your slave. I am not your property. I went out, with my maid, to see museums. It's not as if I went to a party against your will and danced with strange men." She breathed as her husband looked livid. "I... I didn't do anything wrong."

"You left today with no note or even a clue as to where you were. You waited until I had left to do this. You left me to worry about you, and I was worried. These were the actions of a spoiled child. Is that what I've married, Ariadne? A spoiled child? Because I won't have it."

She glared at him then.  
"I'm not a child, Arthur. I can go to museums if I wish and I can pick out my own clothes to wear to. You can sleep out here tonight. Don't bother coming to bed with me." She hissed and turned to leave.

She half expected her husband to grab her. She expected to him to hit her. The way she so often saw her father hit her mother when she talked back to him.

It was normal for a man to correct his wife when she disobeyed him.

She was surprised that she_ didn't_ feel Arthur's hands pulling her back. Surprised that she was allowed to go to their room alone, without his yelling at her. Surprised when he let her sleep alone.


	10. Chapter 10

2.

~ She woke to sunlight pouring lavishly into their bedroom. For a few seconds, she lay in bed; blissfully ignorant of the fight. Then her memories came rushing back to her as she realized her husband wasn't in bed with her.

The hotel room was quite and still. Ariadne didn't want to leave her bed and decided she didn't have to. She went back to sleep.

When she woke, Maura was knocking on her door, asking if she wanted to come out for lunch.

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry, Maura." Ariadne said softly. "Send my apologies to Arthur for not joining him."  
"Your mister isn't here, Missus." Maura said fretfully. "He left last night and hasn't come back."

Ariadne snapped out of bed and unlocked her door. Maura was shaking in front of her. Her little face frightened.  
"What are you talking abou-t?" Ariadne demanded.

"Just what I said, Missus." Maura said backing away. "If he's not here with you, he's not in this suite. I heard him leave last night."

"Where did he go?" Ariadne asked feeling panicked as she stripped off her night clothes. Her maid rushing to prepare a bath for her.

"I've no idea, Missus." Maura said.

~ It took an agonizingly long time for Ariadne to dress. The cut of her new French dress was not what she was used to. However, it was more forgiving to her condition then she was used to. Arthur had good taste and the foresight to see her waist line expanding.

"Are you going to be leaving the hotel, Missus. In your condition?" Maura asked as Ariadne pinned her own hair.

"My _condition_ is not an ailment, Maura." Ariadne sighed.

"Only, he was upset last night." Maura fretted. "I don't want to see you hurt."

"Arthur isn't the type." Ariadne sighed. She had surprised herself by saying it. Arthur _wasn't_ the type to hurt a woman. He had spoken to her in anger last night, that was true. But he had never yelled at her. Never raised his voice, much less a hand to her.

He had been right. She had acted childishly. Now, her husband had most likely abandoned her in France because of her behavior.

She felt ready to cry. She had ruined a perfect union that had ensured her reputation and survival. What was she to do now? She had a little money, but hardly enough for fare back to America. Even in third class. What would she even do back in America?

She straightened herself a little taller and put on a brave face.

"Prepare our lunch in a picnic basket and bring a blanket. We will go to the parks today, Maura." Ariadne said brightly. "It's not raining and we should enjoy the good weather before the winter comes."

"Yes, Missus." Maura said.

~ Ariadne was quick to scratch out a note and leave it on the mantle piece.

_Arthur, _

_ I am sorry for yesterday. You were right, I was childish and it was wrong to make you worry. I will be in the parks with Maura today. I was sorry to hear you left last night. Looking forward to seeing you tonight. _

_ Ariadne_

It was the best she could do as an apology. Her pride bristling at the idea of how smug Arthur would be once he read it. If he came back to read it at all.

~ It was a fine Autumn day as Ariadne left the hotel. The air felt clean and invigorating.

Aside from her disagreements with Arthur, she was finding she enjoyed Paris.

"Watch out, Missus!" Maura cried as a motor car plowed down the street near the hotel, and didn't slow down.

"Oh!" Ariadne cried as she was almost hit by the pompous looking automobile. It's driver having to swerve to miss her.

She watched as the car stopped and the driver left the engine running as he exited the vehicle.

She should not have been so surprised to see it was Arthur behind the wheel.

"Waltzing in the streets without looking, Madam?" Her husband asked curtly as he looked her over. His face pulled down in a scowl. "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine. Despite being almost murdered by that thing! Who does it belong to?" She said smoothing out her new dress.

"I'm afraid that _thing_ now belongs to us. I spent all of yesterday learning to drive. Then bought one on impulse." Arthur said looking at his new possession proudly.

"Are you alright, Missus?" Maura asked meekly.

"Yes, Maura." Ariadne sighed.

Arthur looked over his wife in her new dress.

"Out for another adventure, I see." He said stiffly.  
"Yes." Ariadne said just as stiffly. "Maura and I were going to the parks. I left you a note."

"Perhaps you would like me to drive you. I need the practice." Arthur offered.

Ariadne saw her chance to get back in his good graces and seized it.  
"Certainly." She said. "Shall I have Maura pack a lunch for you?"

"Oh, Missus. Not to be a burden, but I don't like these motor cars; and I'm afraid of my allergies in the parks." Maura piped up.

"I guess it's just us then." Arthur said with a small laugh as he took the basket and blanket from her maid.

~ Ariadne had not gotten used to the speed which these new cars drove. She was used to riding in the back of motor cars and not the front with the driver.

"You're going too fast!" She cried out as the new automobile whizzed past horse drawn carriages at over 20 miles an hour. Her heart was beating wildly at the speed.

Arthur was laughing as he slowed down.

"I like this car." He told her as he drove them to a park and put the parking break on. He let the engine idle and die.

"Ford's moving assembly line is impressive. I'm thinking of investing in it." Arthur told her. "It makes things that were normally only attainable to the wealthy, available to the middle class as well."

"Won't it defeat the purpose of owning an automobile? The status symbol I mean?" Ariadne asked in surprise.

"Not at all." Arthur laughed. "In a few years, all of America will have cars. Regardless of social status. We under estimate the working class. The sheer volume makes them a powerful consumer. We would be wise to cater to them." Arthur told her as they left his new car to walk in the park.

Her father had hated the middle class. He had thought them necessary worker bees, but that they needed to stay below their station. He felt that the lower class was barely human, and didn't acknowledge them at all. Ariadne had not been exposed to poverty as a girl and it wasn't until she was almost grown did she notice how the other half lived.

"I'm sorry, I don't see cars replacing horses anytime soon. Especially not with farmers." Ariadne laughed.

"Farmers will benefit the most!" Arthur said happily. "The cotton gin for example is helping farmers. Technology increases productivity all over the world. It's making life easier and more decent."

"My love, you bought that car to show off, and you know it." Ariadne told him.

She looked teasing at her husband. Arthur gave her a little smile.  
"I won't argue that fact, Darling." He said as he glanced back at the handsome car.

Ariadne felt herself smile. He had called her Darling.

She slipped her hand into his as they found a good place to eat.

~ "So what kind of things does your factory build?" Ariadne asked as she slipped off her husband's shoes. They had eaten a lovely meal of sandwiches and hot tea from a thermos. Maura had over packed their lunch.

They sat under a large tree and watched the other visitors walking and playing around them.  
"We don't exactly build things." Arthur told her. "I own factories that build the _parts_ that other factories assemble."

"Do you employ children?" Ariadne asked worriedly. Her ladies group had wanted to protest child labor, but her father wouldn't allow her to go.

"Not without working papers, and not under the age of twelve." Arthur told her.  
"That's still a _child_, Arthur." Ariadne gasped.

"My father was ten years old when he arrived in America. If he hadn't had been able to work, he would have starved or been brutalized in an orphanage." Arthur said, standing his ground. "Another income might be the thing that keeps a family together. That keeps a roof over their head and food on the table."

"That is a child working in a factory. Didn't you read about how unsafe it is?" Ariadne said.

"They don't operate presses or anything like that." Arthur told her. "The boys run around cleaning up after the workers. Getting them supplies. Nothing dangerous."

"What about school?" Ariadne asked him.  
"Most of them have been expelled. It's either a job, or a street gang." He told her.  
"Arthur, child labor is wrong!" She told him.

Her husband looked back at her. Their eyes dueling.

"I understand your argument." He said quietly. "But you've never been in a life where you didn't have enough money to eat. When you are in that situation, you can't afford high, moral values."

She blinked as if insulted.

"Arthur, I saw photographs of children from textile mills." She breathed. "It's not right."

"My factories are much safer then the mills. I remember what those places were like and I don't subject others to them." He told her.

"What do you mean, you remember?" She asked.

Arthur looked back at her. His face hiding something.

"Arthur?" She prompted.

"I was twelve when I had to leave school the first time. I worked for a year in the factory. My mother was sick with TB and couldn't work. My income helped keep her in the sanatorium where she could get well." He told her. "So, I know what these families are going through. They live on the edge of a knife. I pay them as competitively as I can, but sometimes things happen. An illness, or a death. There is no safety net for the lower classes beyond the church charities."

Ariadne sat back on the picnic blanket. She had rarely thought of those children beyond the sensationalized news articles about the working conditions. But her inner feelings on the subject were set in stone.  
"I don't approve of child labor." she told him at last.

"Alright." Arthur said accepting her stand on the issue.  
"I also believe in votes for women." she added.

"I would to, if I was a woman." Arthur nodded.  
"And I want to learn to drive the car." She added.

Arthur laughed.

"We can talk about that later, Darling." He said.

She nodded and looked at her hands.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I don't regret leaving on my own, but it was wrong to make you worry." She said at last.  
"I _was_ worried." Arthur sighed and looked away. "I was worried you had left me. It was embarrassing to have to contact the police like that."

She nodded. A man as proud as Arthur must have been humiliated to have to report his wife had gone missing.

"I would have taken you to museums if you really wanted to go." He said.

"I _did_ want to go and you said no. You wouldn't even consider it. You wouldn't even let me pick out my own clothes." She said.

Arthur looked troubled by her accusations, but said nothing.

"Where did you go last night?" She asked.

"I rented another room in the hotel. I didn't want to sleep in the sitting room." He answered.  
"You were in another room? Alone?" Ariadne questioned. Her mind recalling sordid stories the girls at school told of older brothers who had found a woman's company for one night.

Arthur looked at his wife. She could feel his gaze was hard and steady.  
"Of course I was alone." He said coldly.

She looked away; afraid to meet his eyes.

"Why don't we extend our stay in Paris?" He asked her brightly. You can buy what you like and we can go to art shows and museums?"

"I thought you hated museums." Ariadne sniffed. Her handkerchief to her face as she tried not to cry.

"I _do_ hate them. But I want you to be happy." He told her.

"I don't want to go to these places if you're miserable. I don't want to make you unhappy." She said dabbing her eyes.

"Some wife you are." Arthur laughed. "Isn't that what a good wife is required to do?"

She lightly slapped his shoulder as her face bloomed into a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

3.

~ In the end, their stay in Paris was a success. Arthur had found he was greatly interested in an artist called Claude Monet. He bought three painting of landscapes Ariadne thought were rather boring.

"He's apart of the _impressionist_ movement. I thought you didn't like modern art." Ariadne reminded him.

"I like the colors." Arthur announced as the art work was packed into crates for the trip to England.

~ Getting the automobile over the crossing was a taxing affair and slowed them down. It would have been easier to take the train, but Arthur insisted on driving.

~ "Now, we start the engine. And we check that there is no other traffic around us." Arthur said once they were in England. He had found a lonely country road, not far from Dover, to teach her to drive.

Ariadne nervously started the car and felt the engine vibrate through the steering wheel.

"We release the brake and guide the car onto the road." He instructed.

She took hold of the brake lever and pushed it down. The task was hard and no doubt intended for the upper body strength of a man.

The car jumped to life and moved quickly down the road.  
"Whoa!" Ariadne shouted to the car as is picked up speed. "Whoa!"

"It's not a horse, madam!" Arthur shouted over her cries. "Use the foot brake!"

She remembered to tap the foot peddle lightly as had instructed her.

"Whoa!" She said happily as the car slowed and idled. She felt relived this strange contraption did as she wanted.

Arthur let out a sigh.

"That went much better then I thought." He said.

Ariadne was shaking, but a huge grin was on her face.

"How do I make it go again?" She asked feeling suddenly elated at the prospect of driving.

~ London was amazing. Unlike New York, which was still a young of a city, London was surrounded with buildings that were so old; they were allowed to crumble into dust with people still living in them. The pollution was ripe and the fog that was now starting to settle over them, made things even more ominous.

"The city will be tearing down these slums soon." Arthur told her.

"Where will the people go?" She asked as they drove past the impoverished population on the streets. She couldn't help but feel guilty in their fancy car as she looked at the half starved faces of children. A little girl with big eyes and rags for a dress was watching her intently.

For the first time ever, she saw her own child in her mind. A child she had not given birth to yet. One who might have shared the fate as these starved wretches if it were not for Arthur. She leaned closer to him as he drove down the cobbled streets.

~ Arthur had allowed her to explore some of the shops in London, as he spent the day in at the telegraphs office. Business back in the states needed his immediate attention. Although he didn't like the prospect of letting his pretty wife lose with only a skittish maid for company; he had been over ruled.  
"I won't be long. I want to see the book shop. Maybe get some art supplies." Ariadne told him as she secured her new hat and wool jacket.

Arthur sighed and told them both to be back in an hour.

"We'll be fine, Arthur." Ariadne called back to her husband.

"Don't wander to far. I'll be right here in the office." he reminded her.

Ariadne felt almost naked without Arthur in the crowded neighborhoods; where people seemed to live on top of one another. They all peered eagerly at the pretty young woman in her well tailored woolen coat with velveteen accents. Her fashionable hat with a whiff of white feathers sitting on top; letting all the world know she was a lady with money.

Suddenly, she felt very exposed and vulnerable here. What if she was attacked? She only had Maura with her. What would she do?

A dirty man with greasy black hair eyed her greedily as Maura pulled her into the book shop.

Instantly, Ariadne felt better. There was no place in the world that was better then a book shop. No place where she was safer or more understood then when she was surrounded by all the stories and worlds she could visit. All her friends were here. Austen, Dickens, Bronte and Vern. Books she had read as a child and had found thrilling. She was surprised, in this well appointed book shop, to find books that were intended for children.  
"It's a new fad." The proprietor of the shop to her. "Books especially made for children. All the fairy tales are there, of course; but so are new writers that sell very well. That Peter Rabbit character, can't keep him or his friends on the shelves.

Ariadne smiled over the delightful drawings of a cute bunny with a blue coat.  
"How charming!" She exclaimed looking over the small, child size book.

She suddenly saw an image of her unborn child again. Just as clear as anything she had seen naturally. She was reading these stories to her baby at Blue Rivers. Arthur grumbling about how silly a rabbit with a blue coat was.

She smiled at the image. Savored it, and longed for it to be real.

She bought all five of Miss Potter's rabbit stories and a thick book of fairy tales, when another book caught her eyes.  
"That's not proper reading for ladies!" Maura hissed when she saw the cover. The picture was of a surly looking man with a strait razor.  
"Sweeney Todd?" Ariadne asked the shop owner curiously.  
"Apart of those penny dreadful." The owner told her. "We still sell them. People are mad for a good scary story."

"What makes him so scary? Is he like the Ripper?" Ariadne asked. Her heart starting to beat wildly. Jack the Ripper always provided many inspiration for scary stories when she was a girl.

"Worse, my lady." The shop owner whispered. He looked around the shop to make sure no one was listening in. "He cut the throats of his clients in the barber chair, and his landlady cooked the bodies up in meat pies."

~ "What did you get?" Arthur asked once he had taken care of his business at the telegraph office and they were safely back at their hotel.  
"Oh, nothing much. Some books for me, a nice water color set, and a few books for the little one when he or she gets here. These are the newest thing in children's books." Ariadne said happily showing him Peter Rabbit, and hiding Sweeney Todd deep in her trunk; where the demon barber would not be found.

"A rabbit with a blue coat?" Arthur scowled as he looked over the pint sized child's book. "Why is it so small?" He asked.

His large hands dwarfing the already tiny book.

"Because it's for a _child_ to hold, my love." Ariadne giggled. "They have smaller hands."

"Right." Arthur nodded and handed her the book back. "I guess I keep forgetting you're with child." He sighed and went to read his news paper.

Ariadne felt her face fall slightly. She had entertained herself, since finding Peter Rabbit, with a fantasy of Arthur being a father to her baby. She had gleefully imagined the three of them in a nursery; a fat, happy baby cooing as she read the rabbit stories and her husband looking proudly at the both of them.

Clearly, Arthur entertained no such day dreams.

~ Maura was sent ahead on the train with their luggage. She would set up their things at Blue Rivers as the couple took their time on their journey to the grand estate.

~ "That's it." Arthur said after an arduous day of driving. They had stopped at an inn that was only forty miles away from Blue Rivers. Both of them were too exhausted to try and attempt to reach the estate this late at night.

Ariadne was relaxing by a cheerful fire as her husband was looking intently at an oil painting of a formidable building.

"That's Blue Rivers?" Ariadne asked as she stood and joined him in appraising the artwork.

"That's what the innkeeper says. The painting was done over a century ago by a governess who worked there at the time. Who knows if it still looks the same." Arthur whispered.

"It's amazing. It's like a castle." She breathed as she looked at the painting. A building which showed five stories and a facade of a sloping attic windows. Giving the house character.

"This would have been the house my grandfather saw when he was a boy." Arthur whispered to the artwork.

~ "Do you think there will be many servants?" Ariadne asked as they readied themselves for bed. They were still too newly married to undress before one another. Both of them had their backs turned as they removed cumbersome clothing.

Ariadne noticed for the first time a slight swell along her waistline. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she now it was all she could think about and see.

'_Baby. I'm going to have a baby._' She thought and felt a sudden wave of excitement.

She hoped into bed happily and watched as Arthur neatly laid his clothing out and carefully climbed in next to her.

"Arthur?" She whispered before he put out the light.

He tuned to her and she took his hand.  
"Look, I think I might be showing." She said. Her heart feeling full of life as she made his large hand go under her night dress and touch the fullness of her enlarging belly.

Arthur looked at her worriedly and then at his hand resting on her slight swell of unborn baby.

He looked uncomfortable and shifted away from her. Removing his hand, as if the idea of touching her was revolting.  
"Arthur, what is it?" She asked.

His whole face seemed to change.  
"Nothing." He whispered as he put out the light and plunged them in darkness.

~ Ariadne didn't ask why he didn't want to make love to her, or touch her belly that night. They had left those words unspoken as they dressed themselves for the drive to Blue Rivers the next morning.


	12. Chapter 12

4.

~ It was a beautiful fall day, as Arthur drove them both to Blue Rivers. The surrounding countryside was rugged, and the car bounced along the muddy roads.

Ariadne, more aware of her burden now, place a protective hand to her abdomen when the car rolled over a large bump. It was an action she had never done before, and one that Arthur didn't fail to notice.

The night before, he realized that she was indeed going to have a child. His wife, whom he shared his bed, was having another man's baby.

The realization of a child that was not his, felt like a wedge was growing between them. It seemed to him this baby could be their undoing.

He remembered that his pretty and convenient wife, was a fallen woman. A woman who had given herself to another man without being married. He felt a tightening in his chest at the idea that someone else had touched her. That he would have to play father to another man's child.

~ Blue Rivers sat on a large, country estate. Arthur slowed his car as they past an elegant stable house and over charming stone bridges that cut across clear streams where cows drank at their leisure.  
"Arthur, it's so beautiful here!" Ariadne exclaimed.

Even Arthur, with all his cynicism, seemed impressed. The painting at the inn, turned out to be a false advertisement. The house at Blue Rivers was more beautiful then they had been lead to believe. The grounds were immaculately well tended. Complete with an animal topiary garden. Ariadne laughed as she recognized lions and giraffes.

The driveway was long and afforded them a nice view of a small village below; and a river that was so dark, it was almost purple.

"That must be the blue river." Arthur said slowing down so they could enjoy a proper look. "My grandfather swam there as a boy."

~ A line of servants were standing at attention to greet the new lord and lady of the house.

They were decked in uniforms of black with white pinafores for the housekeeper and maids, the footman were dressed in dinner ready finery that somehow put Arthur's suit to shame.

Ariadne felt a little intimidated as she looked over the servants. None of them wore a smile to greet her. They all looked wearily at the new Americans, invading their home.

"Missus." Came a familiar voice as Arthur helped his lady out of the car.

"Maura!" Ariadne cried out at seeing her maid. Maura looked washed out in her black dress with her sandy hair ruthlessly pulled and pinned back.

Ariadne climbed out of the car and gave her maid a hug. It was only a few days since seeing her maid, but she had missed her.

"Lord Bradford." Came a voice to greet Arthur. His voice was subtle and very kind.

"Yes." Arthur said coming to stand by Ariadne.

"My name is Miles. I am the butler here at Blue Rivers." The older gentleman said as Ariadne nervously clasped Maura's hand.

Miles had a comforting, graceful manner about him. He spoke softly and almost grandfatherly to the new arrivals. Ariadne liked him right away.

"Happy to meet you." Arthur said shaking the butler's hand and looking up at the intimidating house. "And happy to be here."

The couple looked over the army of servants.

Ariadne did a quick head count. There appeared to be three maids, none of them over the age of twenty. A beefy looking cook, a tall work hardened scullery maid who must have come from a farm. There were also two, well groomed footmen and an angry looking housekeeper with a lacy matron's cap on her head. She captured Ariadne's interest as being very formidable to the staff. She wore a black dress and a plain looking broach pinned tightly to her high collar. She didn't seem the type to have a ready smile for anyone the way Miles did.

Miles was introducing the staff by their first names and called the housekeeper, Mrs. Abbot.

Ariadne had grown up with only a few servants. The housekeeper did double duty as a cook in her parents home, and they had only one maid for the rest of the work. On the occasions of a party, they hired out a special caterer and wait staff. What would they do with so many full time servants?

"Well, I half expected you might never come!" said a voice that made them all jump.

An elderly woman, perfectly fit despite her age, gracefully stepped down from the stone stairs of the foyer, and surveyed the invaders on her driveway.

She said nothing at all as she looked over first Arthur, and then Ariadne.

"I am Lady Persephone Bradford. A bit long winded, I know. I knew your grandfather as a girl, and a more sullen young man never existed anywhere. I'm you great uncle's daughter." She told Arthur.  
Arthur looked surprised and a little smile came across his face. Family._ Family_ would be living with them.  
"Of course you grandfather left with your grandmother to America not long after my father inherited the title." The old lady said. "We never heard from him, or his wife again."

"I'm afraid they both died on the crossing." Arthur said. He looked as if he had been chastised by this aged relation for things he had no control over. "Mr. Cobb explained this in the letters I expect."

"And now you're here." Lady Persephone said looking over her long lost relation. "I must say I wonder about that. You don't look anything like our family."

Ariadne bristled at the thinly veiled insult. She had been around well composed men all her life, and there was no one better suited to a life like this than Arthur.

She felt her courage rise in defense of her husband.

"Well, we are so pleased to meet you. I can't wait to brag to my friends back home that I have an Aunt Persephone!" Ariadne said with a wide smile. Trying to get into the good graces of a woman who obviously held so much sway here, even if she no longer held any power.

"You will cal me, Lady Percy; I should think. I'm not your Aunt. I'm your distant cousin, dear." Lady Percy said stiffly after she had spent some time looking over Arthur's features.

"We also have the late Lord Bradford's young daughter, Phillipa here with us. Other then that, the house has been lonely since my nephew and his son's passing." Lady Percy said.

Ariadne noticed for the first time, a little girl with sandy, blond hair peeking out behind Lady Percy's dark dress. She had green eyes and a light dusting of freckles on her face.

"Hello, Phillipa." Ariadne called to the child who hid behind Lady Percy. Afraid of the strangers coming to live in her house.

Ariadne squeezed Maura's hand harder.

Was this home?

~ Blue River's was even more lovely inside then out. Lady Percy told Phillipa to go to her room and instructed a maid to have her kept out from under foot until dinner.

"We have a governess." Lady Percy said. "However, Mrs. Mills is quite elderly. She was the nurse maid for three generations of the family and we can't exactly cast her out. Despite the fact that she needs more care then she provides these days. Mrs. Abbot is currently taking letters of interest from prospective governess', but you know these things will take time."

"Of course." Ariadne said as she watched the sad looking child depart silently. She had never had a full time governess. Instead, her mother hired a kindly Irish woman to mind her until she was ten. When she was sent to finishing school.

"After the sinking, the nanny that was on ship with Phillipa, promptly quit. Left her in New York alone, and we had to pay some strange woman on her way to Kent to see the girl home. It was most inconvenient." Lady Percy said as all the servants seemed to magically disperse. All except Miles, who seemed to be standing by in case they needed anything; but was also oblivious to them.

"Phillipa was on_ Titanic_?" Ariadne gasped.

"Oh yes. Her father got her onto a life boat, but the crew wouldn't let any men on at all. Not even Simon, who was only sixteen and still a boy. I was told, by Lady Anthem, that it was all very dreadful. What with the lifeboats and waiting in the middle of the North Atlantic to be picked up. I'm afraid Phillipa hasn't been the same since the ordeal. She was her father's pet and all. Her mother died in child birth. They were an older couple and I'm afraid the late Lady Brandford's age was a great hindrance in childbearing." Lady Percy said as she showed them the house.

Ariadne couldn't take in the beauty of the first floor of Blue Rivers. She was thinking of the little girl having to watch her father and brother on the boat deck of_ Titanic_. The last she would ever see of them.

"You'll forgive my surprise at finding you both here. My solicitor, Mr. Cobb, failed to mention there was any family living in the house." Arthur said looking worriedly at Ariadne.

If this woman was going to be living with them, that complicated their lives greatly.

"Well, where else would we be living?" Lady Percy said with a laugh. "Your third cousin, Mr. Eames, will be here for dinner tonight. Charming young man. He is the only son of the late Lord Bradford's sister Juniper. She is recently widowed and living in India. He is visiting her there." Lady Percy said as she showed them an impressive library.

"With Lord Brandford's death, we expected him to inherit the title, you see. Then, your Mr. Cobb let us know about you. To be frank, we didn't know what had happened to your grandfather and father. We never heard a word about them after they left for America. We were greatly shocked to learn of your existence." Lady Percy said.

Again, that feeling that they had done something wrong crept over them.  
"Well, these things happen." Arthur said stiffly.

"And with a wife in tow." Lady Percy said looking over Ariadne.

"We've been married a year now." Arthur said taking Ariadne's hand and giving it a squeeze. That seemed to be Ariadne's que to give her best smile. A feet she performed admirably.

"Yes, and Colonel Forester's wife wrote to say you are already expecting." Lady Percy mused looking over Ariadne's body.

"Yes, we're very excited to have another generation of this family born here." Ariadne said trying to sound happy.  
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Lady Percy mused. "Arthur wasn't born in this house. The chain is broken I'm afraid."


	13. Chapter 13

5.

~ Maura reappeared and pried Ariadne away from the dragon woman that was Lady Percy.  
"You'll be needing a rest after your long drive, Missus." Her maid said.

Ariadne looked to Arthur who nodded, and she went upstairs with Maura.

"I must say, I question you judgment on hiring that girl as a ladies maid. When she first arrived here, we thought she was to work in the kitchen. Her manners and breeding don't lend her to the vocation of properly caring for a lady of this house." Lady Percy told him.

"Maura is invaluable to Ariadne's happiness." Arthur said in his business like way. "And my wife's happiness is invaluable to my happiness."

"Still newlyweds I see." Lady Percy scoffed. "I myself, never married. I was my father's right hand when it came to running this estate. He had no desire to lose me to some husband or house of my own. I maintained, and still maintain, the running of Blue Rivers. I've lived at here all my life. It's safe to say this house needs me."

"So you ran all the household expense accounts?" Arthur asked.

Lady Percy looked insulted to be asked about money. The color draining from her face, as if she had been asked to talk of wanton, carnal things no lady should know about.  
"I would like to see the accounts. If I'm to be running things here I need to get a better picture of Blue Rivers. Mr. Cobb was never able to get a strait answer from your solicitor." Arthur told her.

Lady Percy looked scandalized.

"Is there a problem?" Arthur asked.  
"No. It's just that monetary concerns are not discussed so... casually." Lady Percy said. "Rest assured that our finances are attended to."

"I have no doubt. But I still need to see expense reports, wages for your staff and that sort of thing." Arthur told her.  
"I've handled all of that since I was sixteen." Lady Percy said. "I can assure you, it is all handled well." "I never said they weren't. May I see them?" Arthur persisted.

Lady Percy seemed to not understand.  
"Lady Percy, I own a factories. Very successful ones to. Whenever I visit one of them, the fist thing I do is inspect the factory floor. See that the workers are doing their jobs and there are no, metaphorical, fires to put out. The second thing I do; is inspect the books. I find out where the money is going and if it can be managed better. This house is more like a factory then it is a home. You have expenses that I need to be made aware of. May I see the books now?" Arthur said in a voice as cold as stone.

~ Ariadne followed Maura upstairs and down a dizzying array of hallways.

"You'll get used to it, Missus." Maura said guiding Ariadne to a suit of rooms. "It took me a long time to find my way around here. There are some places I still won't go; afraid of getting lost." she said with a giggle.

It was a large and homey suite, complete with a fire place and sitting room. An impressive bathroom was accessible, with a lavish bathtub that overlooked a large window.

"We have hot, running water upstairs, which is a blessing." Maura said as she started to unpin Ariadne's hat from her head. "No running up stairs and down with a pail of hot water for your bath."

The new lady of the house wandered around the rooms and saw the delicate furniture, rose printed fabrics and bedding. There was even girlish prints of cherub like babies on the wall.  
"I'm not sure how comfortable Arthur will be sleeping here. Everything is very feminine." Ariadne said looking over the lacy ruffles of her bedding. She could just imagine her husband trying to not look out of place in the sea of pink roses with fat babies staring at him from their framed prints.  
"Oh, Miles has personally placed all of the new Lord Bradford's things in another room down the hall. Said it's not fitting for a lord and his lady to share a room." Maura told her.

"What?" Ariadne asked in surprise.

When she had first agreed to marry Arthur, she was had hoped they wouldn't have to share a bed. However, they had since been sleeping in the same bed every night. She had gotten used to her husband being so near her while she slept. She had surprised herself that she enjoyed their marital time together as well. A thing she had been trained she must only endure, and never find pleasurable.

She had been weak with Jeffery. She gave into a man who she thought she loved and loved her. Their intimate relations nothing special and more awkward and uncomfortable for her then she cared to think about.

With Arthur, their time together was different. His kiss and touch seemed to nourish her in a way food, water and sleep never could. She thrilled at his hands caressing up her leg and his fingertips, tickling her skin.

She blushed hard at the memory of him. Her body, now grumpy since denied his attentions last night. A thing he normally lavished on her every night since Paris had been sharply ripped away and she was going through withdrawal.

Maura shrugged.  
"I tried to tell him that you and Lord Bradford slept in the same bed, and he said it wasn't fitting for me to talk about that. Then Mrs. Abbot said I wasn't a proper ladies maid, called me names and said I needed to resign. I don't mind telling you, I don't care for some of the staff here, Missus. That Mrs. Abbot told me I was going to burn in the rapture my first day here. She makes us all go on our knees every morning and evening for prayers and also before all our meals. Miles says the only book I'll be allowed to read in this house is the King James Bible. That he will personally be checking my things for anything that might corrupt me." Maura told her.  
"Maura!" Ariadne gasped. She had never heard of such a thing. Even at finishing school where prayers were held over each meal and Sunday services were always attended; she had never been _forced_ to do them. Nor had any girl or servant there. In fact, she went to school with girls who were varying shades of Christian and didn't attend the same in school chapel as her.

To tell someone they would burn in the rapture would be taboo in her school. The girls and servants were too used to their rights. Their parents too able to raise a fuss if those rights were infringed upon.  
"I'm sorry that happened, Maura. I'll speak to Mrs. Abbot and Miles myself." Ariadne said.

"Oh no, Missus!" Maura cried. "I don't want them to be upset. Lady Percy had me working in the kitchens for the first few days. I don't want to go back down there!"

"Lady Percy indeed!" Ariadne fumed and stormed out of the pretty, pink room.

**BTW who LOVED JGL's "Magic Mike" dance on SNL last night? "Magic Mike 2" anyone?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Part III**

**The Bitter Fruit**

1.

~ "We've had a number of renovations done to the house." Lady Percy said hotly as Arthur scowled over the mess of receipts and ledgers in her little office. If this woman had been one of his managers in a factory; he would have fired her for keeping such an untidy account of expenses.  
"I see you had a boiler put in last year, that's good." Arthur said looking over an impressive bill.  
"Yes, we sold a plot of land to the railroad to pay for it." Lady Percy said. A dark cloud passing over her face.

"This roster for the servants," Arthur said looking over the ledgers of thin slanted writing. "You pay them on a quarterly basis?"  
"No. Yearly." Lady Percy told him.

"House Maid £16 a _year_?" Arthur questioned. "That's less then $20 in America."

"You forget, they have their room and board here as well. We pay on average, for this area, and there are many people who are happy to have a place in a grand home like this." Lady Percy said.

"Well, you are lucky." Arthur said bitterly. "In America, I could never find a maid who would be willing to work for so little."

"Blame that on yourselves." Lady Percy hissed. "You've done a horrible job of keeping your lower classes in their place. The leaving age of school for farm girls is nine. I've read that, in America, most girls are leaving school at fourteen. No wonder they do not try to obtain a position in a respectable household when there are factories that will pay more. Why, I've had to remind Miles that your so called ladies maid, isn't allowed anything but the bible in her reading materials."

Lady Percy rolled her eyes.

"There was a time, we wouldn't hire a maid who could read. It's the blurring of the classes. It is most incontinent." She finished.  
"Yes, how dare the poor rise up and better themselves. I'm sure it _is_ most inconvenient to the rich." Arthur said brashly.

The old woman looked offended.  
"Lady Percy, you have been spending money that you don't have. You've been doing it for the past two decades. You have some income coming in from tenets, but it's not enough to support this life style of parties and extended trips the late Lord Bradford has taken." Arthur said at last. "You're in very serious debt here."

Lady Percy gawked at him.  
"Why, I doubt you are any _real _relation to us at all!" She fumed. "Not only do you look nothing like us, but a real Bradford gentleman would never mention money."

"I think that might be the problem." Arthur snapped back. "Ignoring this isn't going to make it go away. You're spending more then you're bringing in. That's not good business."

"Arthur!" came a cry as shouting was heard outside the hall. Right away he recognized his wife's harassed voice.

"You can not go in there, your ladyship." Miles was saying. His voice soothing and pleasant as he tried to prevent Ariadne from interrupting them.

"Stay out of my way!" Ariadne cried as she threw open the doors to Lady Percy's office.  
"Arthur! I want Mrs. Abbot gone!" She said as she looked out of breath and winded.  
"Don't be ridiculous. Mrs. Abbot isn't going anywhere. Go back upstairs and rest." Lady Percy told Ariadne.

Arthur looked from the old woman to his wife.  
"Ariadne, what's happened?" He asked calmly.

"Maura has told me how they have been treating her since she arrived. That she was made to do kitchen work. That she was told she was going to hell and they even make her pray twice a day. When I went to speak to Mrs. Abbot about this, that woman told me she has the run of this house and not _visitors_." Ariadne told him. Her cheeks pink with anger.

"Young woman!" Lady Percy laughed haughtily. "How Mrs. Abbot run things downstairs is how things have _always_ been run at Blue Rivers. Mrs. Abbot has worked in this house since she was ten years old. I trust her judgment on how to deal with servants."

"I won't have my maid abused by that woman and I won't tolerate a servant telling me I am a _visitor_ in what is to be my home!" Ariadne fumed. "A also won't tolerate being told when to rest and when not to."

She turned to her husband.  
"Arthur, you're in charge now. I want Mrs. Abbot dismissed. I don't want her in this house another second." Ariadne demanded.

Arthur stood. He had had enough and was now at the end of his tether.

"Ariadne. Please go back upstairs and let Maura attend to you. We've been here less then an hour and already your having problems with the staff?" He scolded.

"Arthur!" Ariadne cried.

"I expected you to handle these situations better. I'm sure they won't be the last ones you will have to deal with. I won't have you running to me every time you can't control the servants." he said plainly.

Ariadne looked shocked as Lady Percy gave a smug little grin.

"Arthur." She breathed again. Tears forming in her eyes.  
" I know you're tired from the drive. Please go back upstairs and lets worry about this tomorrow. We still have a dinner to get through." Arthur told her.

Ariadne was shaking her head. A deep look of betrayal in her eyes.

~ "My, wasn't that dramatic?" Lady Percy said from her roost in a high back chair. Miles had meekly closed the doors behind Ariadne as she stormed back out. "Is that how things are done in America? Because my friends would find that very entertaining."

"I'll have to speak to Mrs. Abbot." Arthur fumed as he once more went over the books. "We may have to let her go anyway. If not for insubordination, then for cost. She makes more then any of the other servants."  
"Mrs. Abbot is not about to leave this house." Lady Percy said in shock. "She has worked here most of her life, and doubles as my personal ladies maid and housekeeper; and we will will certainly not be dismissing her with the excuses of insignificant funds."  
"Lady Percy, your funds _are_ insignificant. I also see that you are sending support checks to someone names Maggie Williams? What is that?" Arthur asked.

"That is a private matter." Lady Percy said stiffly. Her face going white.

"Very well, but they will have to stop. This estate is hemorrhaging money." Arthur told her. "We will have to make some major cut backs if we are to dig ourselves out of the red. No more parties, no more trips. I also see you give an allowance to Mr. Eames. Why doesn't he work?"

"Mr. Eames is a gentleman!" Lady Percy scoffed.

Arthur scowled at her.

"We don't have the means to support gentlemen of leisure anymore." Arthur grumbled.

"Now see here, young man." Lady Percy said standing up. "I will not have you coming to my home and riffling though our accounts. I will not have your lady, if she can even be called that, try and dismiss my servants. I will never allow you to cut off my nephew without a penny to his name."

She looked livid now as Arthur couldn't help but be impressed with her resolve.

"Do you expect us to sell our belongings at auction? Our family disgraced?" Lady Percy said. "Do you want Phillipa to go to work as a scullery maid when she was born to a fine family?"  
"Lady Percy, I don't want any of that." Arthur said as gently as he could "But an auction might be wise. A lot of your debts could be settled with an influx of funds."

"You said you are a businessman." Lady Percy barked.

"I am."

"You said you are successful?"

"Yes."

"Then you should be all the influx of funds this household will need. Mr. Cobb has assured me that you are wanting to live at Blue Rivers and hold my late nephew's title. That will mean you will have the responsibility of the house accounts. It is now your duty to fix this. But sell my things, I will not do. Not mine, or any of my families." Lady Percy said before leaving him.


	15. Chapter 15

2.

~ "Sir?" Came the soft, pleasing voice of Miles.  
Arthur had been slouched over the yellowing paperwork of expense accounts, leases and funds that had dwindled down to almost nothing.

He looked up to see Miles peering over him. He was holding a tray of soup and tea.

"You haven't budged from this spot for hours now, sir; and your lady insisted you eat something." Miles said setting the tray down.

"Ariadne's been down?" Arthur asked as the pleasing smell of lunch greeting him.  
"Afraid not." Miles said softly. "She sent Maura to say she wasn't feeling well, and to inform us to make sure you eat."

Arthur nodded. That was like Ariadne. He had gotten so used to her little hands smoothing out his jacket before leaving a room. Straightening his tie and nodding her approval. Her big, brown eyes scanning him for imperfections so that he would look presentable. Her attending to his needs of dress and meals everyday, made him feel looked after and cared for. It was a feeling he never thought to need, but had grown to like.

Then, there was their time alone at night. Her skin like petals of a flower as her dark, wavy hair fell handsomely past her shoulders and smelled of lavender, roses and all things woman.

"Thank you, Miles." Arthur sighed as he came back to reality.

"You went right into this office without a glance at the house and grounds, sir. If you like, I can show you around after you eat. It will do you good to stretch your legs."

"Maybe." Arthur said as he tasted a potato soup that made his stomach growl to life. "Did Maura say if Ariadne was alright? I understand their was some trouble earlier." he asked.

"There was a bit of a row below." Miles admitted. "Mrs. Abbot isn't used to change."

He sensed that the butler here held a certain weight among the staff and a great deal of trust. Miles was the type of gentlemen who Arthur would hire to be a foreman at one of his factories. A man who was gentle to the staff, but honest with the boss.

"Miles, you can understand that I can't have my wife's maid bullied. I also can't have my wife belittled. Change is inevitable, but that kind of behavior is inexcusable on Mrs. Abbots part." Arthur said.

"I will speak to Mrs. Abbot about it, Sir. But Lady Percy-"

"Lady Percy," Arthur interrupted "Is not in charge of this house any longer. I will be in charge of this estate and my wife is in charge of the servants. I don't want to have her coming to me because she isn't treated with the respect a lady of her position is entitled to." Arthur said firmly.

Miles didn't react to this little speech. He gave Arthur a soft nod and made to leave.

"We have yet to hire a valet for you, sir. Dinner will be at seven sharp. I can help you dress when the dressing gong goes off." Miles said.

"I don't need help dressing. Ariadne lays out my clothes for me. What I have on will be fine for a dinner at home." Arthur sighed. "Don't bother hiring a valet."

"As you wish, sir." Miles said gently, and left him alone with stacks of papers in red ink.

~ It was almost five before Arthur climbed the stairs to find his wife.

It was a maze upstairs and for a house that hired an excess of servants, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello?" he called out feeling foolish.

He heard a door creak and turned to see a bright green eye peeking out at him. A tiny girl was looking at him from a crack in the door.  
"Phillipa?" Arthur called to her, only to have the child shut the door again. Vanishing like a ghost.  
"I've been trying to coax her out all day." Ariadne said from behind him. "I even did a little water coloring of a horse and slipped it under her door."

He turned to see his wife standing behind him.  
"No luck?" He asked.

She shook her head.  
"I suppose I'm not to bother you with that as well?" She said turning away from him.

Arthur sighed and followed her to the most dainty, frilly room he had ever seen. Framed prints of cherubs were hung on the walls. Large, rose patterns covered a tiny bed with a lacy canopy.

"This is our room?" Arthur said wrinkling his nose.

"No, this is _my_ room. It's not proper for us to share a room here." Ariadne huffed.

He looked around his wife's private quarters. Nothing about this room lent itself to any kind of male influence. He felt odd just standing here.

"Ariadne, I'm sorry. About before. I've spoken to Miles; he will speak to Mrs. Abbot." He said.

"I don't want Mrs. Abbot here." Ariadne fumed.

Arthur closed the door.  
"We may have to let her go anyway. We may have to let them all go." Arthur sighed.

"Why?"

"This household has been in the red for almost twenty years. Bad investments, lavish spending. Not to mention they have been selling off property to make the minimum payments to their creditors. It's taken it's toll. This house is one giant lie." He told her.

"Arthur." Ariadne looked at him in numb shock. "What are you saying?"

"This house, this family, is not the great estate it was promised." He said as plainly as he could. "Lady Percy told me that my money should be enough to bail them out."  
"It's _our_ responsibility to pay their bad debts?" Ariadne laughed darkly.

She and Arthur said nothing for a long time. They both looked over the immaculate grounds as evening fell.

The small hand he liked so much slowly grasped his own and he found comfort in the contact. His convenient wife becoming a safe harbor in this strange sea he found himself in.

"Can we do that? Can we pay them all off?" Ariadne whispered.

"No." Arthur told her. "Even if I liquidated all my assets, which I will never do, it still wouldn't be enough."

"So what do we do?" Ariadne asked.

"The Bradford's made money by leasing farm land. But they've sold a lot of it off. We can auction a few things around here, maybe even sell remaining land to settle the debts. I don't want to have to do it, but it's bound to happen anyway if I don't." Arthur told her.  
"Arthur, maybe we should just go back to America. Let them stew in their own mess." Ariadne said softly.

"No." Arthur said stubbornly.

"Arthur. This place is a money pit, you said so yourself. A house like this in England with no money? It makes no sense!" Ariadne pleaded.  
"This was supposed to be my father's home." Arthur told her angrily. "I won't abandon it."

"No, you'll just put every last dime into it till we're broke! Lets just go home." Ariadne pleaded.

"Ariadne, the whole reason I came here, why I married you, was to reclaim my birthright!" Arthur snapped.

She gaped at him open mouth as he stormed out of the room.


	16. Chapter 16

3.

~ Ariadne felt tears well up. Arthur's words had been like a knife. Surely, surely she meant more to him then just a match made for the sake of his lost birthright.

Her husband's footsteps echoed back down the hall and he quietly came back to her room.  
"Madam, would you have any idea where my room might be? Miles says we must dress for dinner." Arthur told her.

Ariadne tried not let her voice give way to how upset she was as she spoke.

"It's the second door on your right. I've already laid out your dinner clothes." She whispered.

Swallowing her sorrow as though it were bitter fruit.

Arthur nodded and he looked as though he had something more to say. She waited for him to apologize. For him to say she was more than a convenient wife; but her husband promptly turned and left her.

She let a hollow sense of grief over take her then. Like a large bubble, it welled up in her chest and broke out in a fit of tears and frustrated sobs.

For just a moment, she had thought Arthur might actually love her. She had believed that this man cared for her beyond their shared deception.

She sank into a pink, overstuffed chair and let the cry rage out of her body. She had promised herself not to love. She had convinced herself, so thoroughly, not to believe he could ever love her. Love was in books. It wasn't real.

She jumped at the shock of a cold hand on her cheek.

A thin, pale face with bright green eyes greeted her.  
"Phillipa?" Ariadne croaked as she realized the child had come into the room. "What- what are you doing here?"

Phillipa said nothing. Her long blond hair only highlighting how pale her skin was. She was grasping tightly, a small piece of paper. It was the water coloring of the horse Ariadne had slipped under the child's door. A failed attempt to get the girl to come out of hiding.

"Oh yes." Ariadne said with a laugh. "My water coloring is dreadful, isn't it?"

Phillipa held the art work to her chest as though she wanted to protect it.

Ariadne wiped her running nose and tear stained eyes with her handkerchief.

"You know, I have a lovely book with very nice water colorings. Would you like to see what a real artist can do?" She asked the child.

Phillipa nodded slowly. Her eyes picking up a little interest as she watched the new lady of the house go to her trunk.

"I found them in a book shop in London. I love books. Do you love books, Phillipa?" Ariadne asked.

Phillipa looked at her shoes and held the water coloring of the horse close to her body.

Ariadne searched in her trunk till her hands found the little book with the charming rabbits.

"His name is Peter. Isn't her marvelous?" Ariadne said showing Phillipa the cheery water colorings.

Phillipa looked with interest at the rabbit in the blue coat.

"Perhaps we have time for one story before dinner. Would you like me to read it to you, Phillipa?" Ariadne asked.

She was surprised to see Phillipa's eyes light up at the prospect and she nodded.

Ariadne settled herself on the pink chair and told Phillipa to sit with her. The little girl, not little enough to sit on Ariadne's lap, curled her body close to see the pictures.

"Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were – Flopsy Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter. They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, under the root of a very big fir tree." Ariadne said as Phillipa looked longingly over the plump body of Mrs. Rabbit.

~ Arthur felt badly for what he had said to his wife. The look on her face, plainly said he had wounded her. But returning to America was not to be thought of. It was not his way to back down from a challenge. He would find a way to save this sinking ship. Hadn't he roused himself out of poverty? Hadn't he gone to night school while working at the docks? He had tackled tougher opponents then Blue Rivers before.

Still, he would rather face such opposition on his own turf then here. He had a deep, depressing feeling that he was out of his depths in this place; and he had alienated his only ally.

He wished Ariadne was here to pin on his cufflinks. He had grown accustomed to her neat little hands fitting them on and smoothing out his shirt. His hands had suddenly grown clumsy at the task.

He was relived when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Arthur said. He was sure it would be Ariadne, and that she would have gotten over his outburst. Wasn't it the nature of women; to be forgiving?

He was surprised to see Miles.  
"Just came to see how you're getting on, sir." The butler said. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Arthur held up his arm to show the woebegone task of doing his cuff links.

"Permit me, sir." Miles said with a soft, pleasing smile. "No simple task at times. One needs another pair of hands."

"Ariadne usually dose them for me. I've become spoiled I'm afraid." Arthur admitted.

"The mark of an excellent wife, sir." Miles told him as without effort, he snapped the cufflinks on in a few swift movements. "Is a lady you can't live without."

"Yes." Arthur laughed and felt a pain in his chest for how he had spoken to her before. "Women, such an infuriating and wonderful burden to man."

"Indeed, sir." Miles said softly.

~ Arthur followed the butler out into the darkening hall. He watched as Miles lit a kerosene lamp and held it aloft. The dark hallways barely illuminated by wall brackets of softly glowing gas lamps.  
"No electricity upstairs?" Arthur asked.

"None in the house, sir." Miles told him.

~ Arthur wasn't used to the dimness of such a big house. In America, electricity flowed from everywhere. He was used to it, and had taken for granted that Blue Rivers would at least have it in some of the main rooms.

He spotted his lovely wife at the foot of the stairs. Her pretty, dark hair swept up in a fashionable style as she held the hand of a small girl.

Phillipa looked back at him with wide, peering eyes as she hid behind Ariadne.  
"I've made a friend." Ariadne said.

A tint was in her voice that told Arthur she was trying to at least _sound_ happy. Her face looked sad and her eyes weren't dancing like they used to.

"So I see." Arthur said looking around his wife to catch a glimpse of Phillipa.

"Ma'am, the child eats her supper in her room." Miles told Ariadne.

"Nonsense, I don't want her to eat alone. She can eat with the family." Ariadne told the butler.

"Lady Percy will insist-" Miles began.

"Phillipa is welcome to dine with the family for every meal from now on." Arthur said curtly.

Miles only gave Arthur a soft nod and left them to attend to dinner.

Arthur and Ariadne said nothing as they looked around the grand hallways. It was lit up with half a dozen kerosene lamps, but it was still too dark for their taste.

"No electricity." Ariadne whispered.

"They just got hot water in the pipes last year." Arthur told her.

He spotted Phillipa peeking out at him from behind his wife's dress.

"Phillipa, it would be my privilege to escort you ladies to dinner." Arthur said with a low bow. A bright green eye flashed quickly behind Ariadne's skirt.

"Still shy." Ariadne said with the first real smile he had seen on his wife's face since she came here.

"Well, it's good she's your friend at least." Arthur mused dryly. He looked over her fine dinner dress. A lovely forest green with black beading sewn into the scoop neck collar. It perfectly suited her complexion and hair.

"You look very pretty." He whispered as he tried to take her hand.

Ariadne shifted away from him.  
"Thank you." She said and looked away.


	17. Chapter 17

4.

~ The dining hall at Blue Rivers was better lit then the rest of the house. Ariadne felt her stomach grow claws as she smelled the heavenly aroma of beef and other delightful foods.

"So good of you to join us." Lady Percy said as she spotted the both of them.

Her eyes missing nothing, she saw Phillipa was with them.  
"What are you doing down here? Go to your room at once! Mrs. Abbot?" Lady Percy called. The angry looking housekeeper appeared and Miles interjected.  
"His lordship has asked that Lady Phillipa be our guest for the evening. Perhaps to make a more merry first meal together?" the butler said diplomatically.

"Absolutely not." Lady Percy huffed. "Mrs. Abbot, take the child upstairs to the nursery where she belongs."

Ariadne spied the housekeeper and put a protective arm around Phillipa.  
"Mrs. Abbot, that will be all." Arthur sighed lazily. "Phillipa will be dinning with us tonight."

Ariadne felt her spine straighten at her husband's words. Her eyes dueling with Mrs. Abbot.

The housekeeper turned to Lady Percy.  
"Arthur, it is not seemly to have a young child, of only seven years, to dine with adults." Lady Percy said.

"I assure you in America, it is not seemly to force a child to dine alone in her room. We are family, are we not?" Arthur said curtly.  
"Blue Rivers is hardly America." Lady Percy growled.

"If it was, I should think it would be a lot more fun." came a voice from the hall.

Ariadne turned to see a man casually stride into the dinning room. He stripped off his outdoor coat and handed it to Miles.

"Alas, Blue Rivers is the same as always. How are you Auntie?" the strange man said with a devilish smile as he stooped to kiss Lady Percy.

"Mr. Eames, this is your third cousin, Arthur and his wife, Ariadne." Lady Percy said.

Mr. Eames seemed to notice the couple for the first time.  
"So you're the usurper to the title." Eames said with that sly smile itching on his face.

He looked over Arthur who scowled back.

Ariadne looked nervously to her husband to see how to act.

"It would seem." was all Arthur said in a cold tone.

"Better you then me." Eames chuckled. "Far too much responsibility for my taste. Putting up with this archaic wreck that's falling apart everyday? Then there's the house to think of."

Ariadne couldn't help letting out a laugh. How clever of Mr. Eames was to call his aunt an archaic wreck. Eames flighted his wolfish eyes over Ariadne, and she felt her legs grow weak. Eames was unmistakably handsome. His face was finely made and his lips looked soft to the touch. Unlike Arthur, Mr. Eames didn't seem the type to spend all day scowling over stocks or worrying over some investments.

"Ariadne, is it?" Eames said looking her over.

She nodded.  
"Lovely name." He said softly.

She felt Phillipa shift behind her.

"Is that Phillipa?" Eames asked and his face broke out into an easy smile. "What are you doing having dinner with the boring old grown ups?"

Phillipa stepped out from behind Ariadne and looked over her cousin.

"My how you've grown." Eames said with a smile. "I haven't seen you in over a year and you went and became a young lady behind my back."

"Phillipa was just going back to the nursery." Lady Percy said coldly.

"No, she wasn't." Ariadne said, just as coldly.

"Now, Aunt." Eames huffed. "We need to have one meal where we act like a family. Bring on the food, I'm starved."

~ Eames was engaging as he talked about India and other places he had gone. He asked about New York and Philadelphia where Ariadne was raised.

Phillipa was quite and never said a word as she stayed close to Ariadne and ate dinner with them.

"So, Arthur, everyone in America has some type of vocation. What's yours?" Eames asked.

Arthur sighed. Ariadne could tell he didn't care for Mr. Eames' energy.

"I own factories. We build parts." he told his cousin dryly.

"How interesting. I've heard things in America are progressing quickly. A lot of money to be made in that field?" Eames asked.

"All this talk of money!" Lady Percy scolded. "Never have I seen anything like it. It's a rude American habit!"

"That it is, Aunt!" Eames agreed. "I won't mention it again."

Ariadne stifled a smile as she tried to eat her soup. Say whatever you wanted about Blue Rivers, the food was excellent. Not even on the ship, or in the hotels in Paris had she eaten so well.

"I do well enough." Arthur said at last.

"I should think so. I saw the car." Eames said. "You must be very proud of your husband." he said with a nod to Ariadne.

She looked up at him. Mr. Eames was smiling at her.

"I am." She said quickly. "He's been a great success at his work and I'm very proud of him."

"So what do you do, darling?" Eames asked leaning, cat like towards her. His face showing he was interested in what she had to say.

"Sorry?" Ariadne asked. Feeling nervous.  
"What do you do?" Eames repeated.

"Well, before I married Arthur, I taught at a girls finishing school." Ariadne told the table at large.

Arthur shifted in his seat.

"Fascinating. What did you teach?" Eames asked.

Ariadne was a little shocked. Not even Arthur had asked what it was she taught. He never seemed terribly interested in her life before their quickie marriage.

"Well, it's a little silly, but I taught home and domestic comportment." She said feeling a blush creep over her face.

"You taught houses how to be nice and civil?" Eames teased.

"No." Ariadne said with a smile and felt her cheeks redden. "No. I taught our young ladies how to manage and decorate a modern home. How to organize a small amount of servants, how to make a home presentable. It seems a little silly, but it's necessary to learn how to do things like set tables and arrange flowers." Ariadne explained. Her teaching profession sounded so useless in the real world of factories and business.

"It doesn't sound silly. I bet you taught them to keep a marvelous home. No wonder Arthur snapped you up. A lady who's _profession_ it is to make his home wonderful? It's a dream come true. I know it's old fashioned, but all men want to come home to a pretty lady, a clean house and dinner on the table. We're not complicated creatures, Darling." Eames said.

"Well, it's not what I really wanted to teach." Ariadne sighed.

"What was it you really wanted to teach?" Eames asked.

Ariadne looked at Arthur. He seemed interested in what she had to say as well.

"Well... I wanted to teach literature. I've always liked to read, and I knew I could make reading more exciting to the girls then the other teachers. I also wished that they taught our girls politics. So much is happening for women right now. We weren't even allowed to address it." Ariadne explained feeling bolder.

"You can't mean the vote!" Lady Percy gasped.

"I do, ma'am." Ariadne said simply. "Women are forced to comply to the laws, same as men, but we have no say in creating them."

"It is not proper for a lady of breeding to show an interest in such matters. We are educated in current events, but we show no allegiance to one side or the other. Women have their place in politics. It is showing support for their husband's choice in candidates. Women don't need the vote, we trust our men to do right by us. Trusting our men, serves our country." Lady Percy told her.

"I disagree." Ariadne said brashly.

Lady Percy glared at her.

"We're fools to trust someone else to do right by us. It's our lives and our future. We should have a say in the matter. Should we not?" Ariadne said proudly.

Eames started to chuckle.

"Phillipa, when you are grown, I hope you are half the lady our Ariadne is. Otherwise, I'll disown you." Eames said covering his mouth with a napkin.

~ "Arthur, do you ride at all?" Eames asked at the family party adjured to the comforts of a library. Ariadne looked over the handsome spines of the countless volumes there. She had never seen so many book in her life.

"You mean horses?" Arthur asked as Phillipa stayed close to Ariadne and watched her every move.

"Yes, horses. We have very fine mounts here at Blue Rivers." Eames told him as he poured a glass of brandy.  
"No, I don't ride horses. Not much need for it in New York." Arthur said as Eames handed him a glass. "I also don't drink." he added coldly.

Ariadne turned to her husband then. Arthur hadn't drank since that night on the ship. The couple exchanged meaningful looks as Eames chuckled.

"Another American habit?" he asked.

"A personal one." Arthur added.

"I think it's time Phillipa was off to bed. Miles, have Mrs. Abbot take the child up." Lady Percy said suddenly.

"I'll take her." Ariadne offered. "I'm a little tired to."

"We can have your maid attend you. Miles?" Lady Percy called.

"No, there's no need. I can take care of Phillipa and myself." Ariadne assured her.

"Well, I suppose you'll need all the practice you can ge,t caring for a child. With a baby soon to arrive." Lady Percy said with a roll of her eyes.

This seemed to have caught Eames' attention. He snapped his gaze to Ariadne.

"You're expecting, Darling?" He asked with that wolf like grin back on his face.

Ariadne sighed as Phillipa took hold of her hand and looked at her curiously.

"Yes." She said meekly. Arthur's face was a deep scowl.

"That's wonderful." Eames said. His voice clear and showed nothing but naked sincerity. "I'm so glad to hear that we'll have a little one in this house again."

He nodded to Ariadne and turned to Arthur.

"You'll have to have a drink now. This is happy news." Eames said.

Ariadne made a hastily bow and pulled Phillipa out of the library with her. She suddenly felt embarrassed to have her pregnancy known by everyone.

~ Phillipa's nursery was populated with old toys that undoubtedly belonged to another generation before her.  
The child trusted Ariadne to undress her and tuck her into bed.

"Did you enjoy dinner with us?" she asked the little girl.

Phillipa nodded. Her bright green eyes, wide.

"I'm glad. We can have every meal together if you want."

A nod.

"What did you think of Arthur?" She asked.

A shrug.

"I know, the less said the better." Ariadne laughed. "I like Mr. Eames. He seems very nice."

A smile.

"Good night, Phillipa. I'll read you another story tomorrow." Ariadne said and kissed her cheek.

Ariadne was almost to the door when a small voice, cracked and strange from so long of not being used, reached her.

"Good night." Phillipa called.


	18. Chapter 18

5.

~ Arthur gave a deep sigh as he watched Ariadne leave him alone with Lady Percy and Eames. A feeling that he had been abandoned to a pack of lions came over him as Eames handed him a glass.

He hadn't drank since that night on Mauritania. A memory he didn't like to think about.

"Congratulations, Arthur." Eames said clinking their glasses.

"I can not understand how this should be treated as a triumph." Lady Percy said from her seat. Her posture ridged as she looked irritated.

"We're going to have a little one on the house again, Aunt. A new baby. A new branch of the Bradford family tree." Eames argued. His eyes alight with joy.

"I would be remiss if I didn't mention; I have my doubts about this young man being an actual relation." Lady Percy said. "He has only a birth certificate to recommend him. He doesn't' resemble _any_ of our family."

"Good for him." Eames laughed as he slapped Arthur on the back. "Maybe his progeny will give our family a good name."

Arthur felt a jumble of nerves wash over him. He was building his life here on a delicate spider web of lies. He had never given Ariadne's child much thought till she showed him the slight swell of her body. Now, it was all he could think of. Of course these people would think it was his child. He would have to act as if the baby was his.  
"You must be nervous about becoming a father." Eames said with a smile as he poured another drink for Arthur.  
"Yes, a little." Arthur admitted. He drank the second glass of bourbon down. A feeling of warmth started to spread through his chest and arms as Eames was quick to fill his glass again.  
"Nothing to be worried about. Not for men to think too much of. These affairs are purely for women to attend to. They enjoy all the little details of babies and things we find boring." Eames assured him. "It's not as if you'll be changing any nappies."

"Eames, really!" Lady Percy scolded.

"Come on, I want to show you the family." Eames said. His voice louder now as he put away his third glass.

Arthur was trying to keep up with his cousin as Lady Percy mentioned something about going to bed, and not to disturb her.

"Old bat." Eames muttered as he took out a leather bound book. "Her bed is the least place in the world to find a disturbance."

Arthur found he was laughing. The drink lowering his tightly controlled manners as Eames showed him black and white photographs in the album  
"My Uncle and Simon." Eames said pointing to a blond haired man and a teenage boy standing outside of Blue Rivers.

Arthur could see now what Lady Percy was saying when she told him he didn't look like anyone in the family. All of the Bradfords had light hair and light eyes. The men were heavily built and the women were tall and curvy. Even Phillipa and Eames had light hair and eyes. Arthur, with his dark hair and lean build, didn't look at all like the them.

"That's the late Lady Bradford. Simon and Phillipa's mother." Eames sighed as Arthur looked over a sepia tinted photograph of beautiful blond woman in her mid thirties. "We were all surprised when we found out she was expecting Phillipa. At her age?" Eames shook his head. "None of us were surprised when she died in labor."

Arthur felt dizzy. Ariadne was pregnant. What if she died in labor? It happened all the time.  
"It was a miracle Phillipa was born alive. It was very bad, as I understand it." Eames went on.

"Can we not talk about that?" Arthur said. He had to sit down. He didn't want to think about losing Ariadne in child birth. A cold, fear seeping into his body at the idea.

"Of course. I'm sorry." Eames said. "You want to see what the old bat looked like when she was Ariadne's age?" Eames asked conspiratorially.

~ Lady Percy had never been lucky in looks. Or so it seemed for the ten foot high portrait that was hung over the parlor fire place. She was dressed in an unfortunately big dress that was filled out by a wide hoop skirts and ruffles. Her frame was too thin for such a dress and she looked like a child playing dress up. Her face was unflattering realistic for an oil painting. It showed a girl with lank, dirty blond hair, and a strong jawline that would have been better suited on a man.  
"She likes to tell people her father didn't want her to marry, and maybe that's true, but I honestly don't see the boys lining up to be her suitor." Eames laughed as Arthur had to stifle the smile that sprang on his face.

Eames shrugged.  
"I don't think I could get it up for that. Money or no." Eames said looking over the large portrait.  
"It's so big." Arthur laughed. He was grateful his drink steeled him enough to look at this horse face young woman. "Why is it so big?"

"What? The painting? The awful dress? Or that forehead?" Eames joked as Arthur laughed.

"All three." Arthur assured his cousin.  
"Well, the painting was a commission by her father. Percy was his pet you see. The old man had about a dozen illegitimate children with the chamber maids, but only a few with his wife. Percy was the only girl. He doted on her because of it."

"My great Uncle was unfaithful?" Arthur asked stupidly as he and Eames sat on dainty couches and looked at Lady Percy's portrait. Infidelity was a luxury he was never exposed to during his childhood. His father loved his mother and needed her. They clung to one another out of love, but also to survive. Another woman was never thought off.

"That's putting it mildly." Eames laughed. "He was responsible for spending all the family trust you know. Borrowed against it to pay gambling debts. His father before him made a fortune selling guns and cannons to the Americans during the civil war. But our great uncle had no head for business. Not like Percy does."

"Lady Percy..." Arthur took a deep breath. "Eames the family fortune is gone." he said at last.

"I know it. I've known it for years now. It would have been much worse if Percy had not take hold of things when she was a teenager. She has a very level head. Her father and brothers were all drunks and would have left the family to ruin if she hadn't stepped up." Eames assured him.

"No, in the past twenty years, the estate has been operating in the red, Eames." Arthur said.

"I know. The late Lord Bradford knew that as well. Why he was going to America. He was trying to find a wife. Some rich widow to come back here to Blue Rivers and bail him out. Ridiculous idea. What kind of man would marry a woman out of convenience?" Eames asked.

Arthur leaned back on the dainty couch as Eames sighed.

"I know the money is gone. Real estate, farming, it's all changed." He said sadly. "This world has become so modern. All our tenants have left to go to America. Land is free there. Why pay a land lord here for a few acres, when you can have unlimited land for free across the pond?"

Arthur nodded.

"Not that I'm blaming America. If I was in there shoes, I would have been on the first boat over. Your grandfather was wise to leave us when he did. Look at you, you've made something of yourself. That's to be commended." Eames said raising his glass.

"Thank you." Arthur told him. His brain feeling fuzzy as he didn't know what to think anymore.

"You've become something greater then any of us ever will, and a beautiful wife to boot. You're a lucky man." Eames said.

Arthur nodded.

"Yes, Ariadne. Yes." Was all he could think to say. "His heart feeling warm to his wife just now. The way she looked at dinner. The way she spoke; he was proud of her. Proud to call her his wife.

"Be grateful you have her. You could have found yourself hitched to a girl like that." Eames nodded at Lady Percy's tragic portrait.

Arthur nodded. Eames was right. It could have just as easily been some horrible woman to step off that train and not his Ariadne.  
"How did you two meet, anyway?" Eames asked.

"I was waiting for a train." Arthur said feeling sleepy. He shook his head and had to think. No one had asked how they had met before. It was a lie they never had to think of. A part of their fabricated history they never made up.

"A train?" Eames laughed.  
"No. A party. We met at a party my friend Cobb was throwing." Arthur said sitting up straighter.

"Are you drunk?" Eames laughed.  
"A little."

"Well, go upstairs to that pretty wife of yours." Eames laughed. "Just don't get turned around and climb into bed with Lady Percy!"

Arthur was stumbling out of the room as Eames roared with laughter.


	19. Chapter 19

6.

~ Ariadne heard Arthur's footsteps on the landing a few hours after saying goodnight to Phillipa. She had gone to bed early; the days events wearing her down more then she thought possible. She half hoped that her husband would go to his room and leave her in peace for the night. His words still stinging in her memory. A deep wound she wanted to fester and hurt.

Yet, the other half of her longed for his body next to hers. Wanted him to find his way back to her; put everything right again with his confidence and steadfastness.

She bit her lip as she heard her door open and footsteps wander into her room.  
"Arthur?" She called out to the darkness.

"One of the first things we need to do, is have this place wired for electricity. I refuse to live in the dark ages." her husband grumbled.

She heard him run into a chair and clumsily try to keep his balance in the dark bedroom.

Ariadne leaned over to her night table; her hands finding a box of matches and the candle. The solitary flame was enough to cast a low light across the room.

Arthur looked disheveled as he could now see where he was.

"Arthur, are you drunk?" Ariadne asked. An anger seizing her as she could smell the brandy on his breath and clothes.

"Seemed rude not to drink the drink I was offered." Arthur said as he sat on the edge of her bed and pulled off his shoes and clothes.  
"Arthur, I think you should go to your own room." Ariadne told him. She didn't want him here. She realized she was still angry at him, and his drinking didn't help.

"I have no intention of sleeping alone, madam." Arthur said as he pulled off his tie and cuff links. "You were looking particularly lovely tonight at dinner, and I neglected my marital responsibilities to you last night at the inn."

"You're drunk. Go to bed." Ariadne said moving away from him and covering herself with her blanket.

"I'm not that drunk, and I _am_ in bed." Arthur sighed as he heaved his lean body in bed with her and quickly seized hold of her wrists.

"Arthur! Stop it!" She cried out as he started kissing her neck. She could smell the brandy, hot on his breath, as he maneuvered his body over hers. She had never realized how strong he was before. His lean frame deceptively concealing his strength as he effortlessly pinned her down.

He was over her in an instant as she was helpless to fight back.  
"Arthur, please don't!" She cried out as she tried to struggle against him.

He held her arms down with graceful ease as he pulled away from her. His eyes looking over her face.

"It's alright." he whispered as his large hands held her down.

"Let me go!" She said in a more collected voice. Her heart trying to calm it's nervous rhythm.

He didn't seem to hear her as he sifted his body more securely over her. Pinning her down more effectively.

"Arthur, I'm pregnant, please." She whimpered as he shushed her. His hand releasing one of her arms and smoothing out her hair.  
"I know you are. I would never hurt you." He said at last.

She tried to brush his hand off her face, but lacked the courage or conviction to do so. Her husband was gazing intently on her. As though observing a fine work of art.

"The moment I saw you, at the train station, I wanted to marry you. Not just so I could inherit the estate. If Blue Rivers wasn't involved, I would still have married you." he told her.

She was breathing hard as he spoke. The candle light providing a weak, and primal light over their faces. The rest of their world was shadows.

"Arthur, this is just an arranged marriage. We don't have to love each other." Ariadne whispered.

"I think I might _want_ to love you." Arthur told her. "I think I might have married you no matter what."

"Would you have married a fallen woman with child, without Blue Rivers?" Ariadne accused.

Arthur kept her pinned down. His long fingers running lazily through her hair.

"Who's to say I'm any better? You're not the first woman I've known in the night, madam." He whispered. "It's society that calls you a fallen woman; not I."

"My child?" she whispered as he nipped at her delicate neck with his lips.

Arthur said nothing. His kiss only teasing and tormenting her skin till she found she was breathing hard.

"I was so proud to bring you into the dinning room tonight. A beautiful lady on my arm. Phillipa trusting you the way she did. The way you spoke to everyone at dinner. You made me so proud, My Darling." He whispered.

She let out a soft moan as he kissed her bare breasts. Her condition making her body more sensitive then ever before.

"Whatever you want, I'll give you. If you want to return to America, we will. We can leave tomorrow. Just say the word and I'll do it. Can't you see I'm helpless to you?" He growled as his hands let go of her body. Her hips rising up to meet his as he rocked himself in time with her.

She lost herself to him then. Whatever he had said, had not been taken in as her body roused awake like a hungry animal.

"Arthur." She panted as his every touch, made her more starved for him.

Her flesh proving weaker then her resolve.


	20. Chapter 20

**Part IV **

**A New Chapter**

1.

~ Ariadne had been dreaming of Paris when a vague sense that someone else was in their room, roused her out of sleep. She stayed perfectly still, her body huddled like a frightened rabbit under her covers, as she heard the noises of the scullery maid building a fire and sweeping the hearth.

Ariadne could tell it was still dark outside. The maid, no doubt, lighting the morning fires so their room would be nice and warm.

Arthur slept heavily, as always. Not waking to notice that they weren't alone in the room.

Ariadne hoped the maid wouldn't see that she was naked under the bedding, and that her husband was with her. Something about his presence in her room made her embarrassed.

But the maid didn't bother to glance at the couple as she quickly lit the fires and left. Shutting the door silently on her way out.  
"Arthur?" Ariadne whispered. "Arthur, wake up!" She hissed shaking him.

Her husband groaned and opened one eye.

"What time is it?" he huffed.

"Still early. You have to go back to your room." Ariadne hissed. She felt guilty and ashamed to have him in the bed with her. Despite the fact he was her husband.

Arthur didn't respond. He closed his eyes and nuzzled back in the bed.

"Arthur, a maid was in here, lighting the fires. She saw us in bed together." Ariadne said. Her skin prickling hot.

"So?" Arthur said grumpily.

"I don't want the servant's to talk about us." Ariadne tried to explain.

"Darling, they talk about us anyway. You can be sure that we entertain them immensely." he grumbled.

"Well, I don't want to give them anymore ammunition!" Ariadne hissed shoving him.

His musculature was lean and heavy. She couldn't easily move his dead weight.

"Madam, I'm not going anywhere." Arthur said lazily after she tried to push him out of her bed.

Ariadne sighed.

Suddenly his arms were around her. Pulling her under him again.

He was awake now, and grinning at her.

"I had fun last night." He purred. His eyes drinking her in with a greed she wasn't used to seeing.

"I'm sure you did." Ariadne snapped. Her hands going protectively to her naked breasts.

She wasn't sure what had gotten into the both of them last night. The things he made her feel; seemed so wrong to enjoy.

"Arthur, you have to go back to your room and get dressed. We both have a busy day." She hissed as he started to nuzzle her neck. A rush of happiness flowing into her blood at the contact.

"I'll lock the door. We can stay in bed today." He whispered.

"No, we can't." She said managing to move away from him. Her hands pulling a sheet over her nakedness as Arthur attempted to recapture her.

She decided to abandon her warm bed and pulled the sheet with her; to keep from being naked in his presence.

"Come back." Arthur called as she scurried to the bathroom and locked herself in.

~ An hour later, she emerged tentatively from her bathroom. She had managed to dress herself in a simple, green dress with a white blouse. Nothing too fancy, as she had work to do.

She peeped out into her flowery, little room. The was sun coming in and her bed was empty. Her husband returning to his own room to dress.

She breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't stop from feeling elated and happy. He had kept calling her beautiful last night. Kept saying he would have married her regardless of Blue Rivers. He said he wanted to love her.

She looked at her reflection in the small vanity as she combed out her hair. She had never thought she was beautiful before. Her face was always so sad and plain looking. But after last night, a delightful amount of pink had come over her cheeks. Her lips were redder and her eyes were brighter. She didn't think she was beautiful, but she might call herself pretty.

Maura came in as soon as Ariadne rang for her. A convenient pulley system was laced all through the house that could be heard by the servants; wherever they were cloistered.

Her ladies maid fixed her hair in elaborate twists and asked what her plans were for the day.  
"I have letters to write." Ariadne explained. "I must write to my parents that I've arrived in England and am settling in at Blue Rivers. I also have letters to write to The Forester's and Mrs. Tatum."

"I think Lady Phillipa wanted to see you this morning." Maura told her. "She seems to have taken a shine to you."

Ariadne smiled.

"She can help me with my letter writing then." She told her her maid.

~ By some unspoken rule, the office and library were a purely male dominated world at Blue Rivers. Lady Percy occupied an opulent sitting room to herself where Maura explained a large oil painting of an ugly woman in a pink dress hung over the fire place. Ariadne wondered where she could go, to be out of the way of the staff and other residents of Blue Rivers. By chance, she had found a pleasant conservatory attached to the back of the house.

Orchids and other exotics were growing here and it was very warm and cheery compared to the chill that October was bringing.

"Can I help you find something your ladyship?" The gardener asked as Ariadne held Phillipa's little hand. The two of them exploring all the plants.

"Just admiring your fine work, sir." She told him as Phillipa latched onto her new friend. "I was looking for a nice place to write, if I won't be in anyone's way." She told him.

The gardener seemed happy to oblige as he showed her to the end of the conservatory. A true Victorian style green house, complete with lavish furnishings sat tucked away and very private. A pleasing space, very much like a parlor, where one could comfortably enjoy nature without the harshness of the weather.

Ariadne watched Phillipa paint with her water colors as she composed a letter to her parents.

_Dear Mother, _

_ I am pleased to tell you I have arrived safely at Blue Rivers, and I can not convey to you how wonderful the house and grounds are. Arthur and I were so happy to find there are family members here. He has an older cousin, by the name of Lady Persephone; although she prefers we call her Percy. A thing I find most delightful. _

_ I myself have made a special friend in Arthur's other cousin, a lovely young girl named Phillipa. She is the only surviving child of the late Lord Bradford and we are becoming fast friends. We even have the same taste in reading. _

_ There is another cousin, a Mr. Eames who has traveled extensively and is very interesting. _

_ I look forward to you and Daddy coming to visit me here at Blue Rivers. I know Arthur would love to meet you. _

_ My condition is well. I am greatly looking forward to the addition to our family at Blue Rivers. _

_ Please send all of my love to Daddy. Please write to me soon.  
Ariadne. _

Ariadne frowned at her letter. It was an odious lie; but a lie that needed to be said. She couldn't exactly tell her mother the truth, now could she? She had to make everyone around her believe that she was alright. They had to view her life as wonderful at all costs.

She looked over at Phillipa. The child was painting rabbits.

Ariadne then started working on letters to the friends she had made while on the Mauretania. People who would be expecting lavish parties at Blue Rivers.

Politely, and with all the grace she knew how, she wrote that Blue Rivers would not be able to host any events this season. That her condition made things hard for her, and she also wanted to redecorate Blue Rivers to a more modern taste.

This would hopefully deflect any attentions away from Blue Rivers' financial problems. Arthur wouldn't want these events or parties just now. If he was honest about the finances of Blue Rivers, this house wouldn't be holding parties for a long time.

~ Around noon, the weather warmed up enough to go outside. Ariadne and Phillipa walked to the village to post the letters. It was only three miles and it was a lovely walking trail that afforded them a chance to see all the wildlife that was around the estate.

The village was charming, but very basic. There was a cottage hospital, a general store, bakery, post office, pub, blacksmith and a small restaurant that doubled as an inn. Nowhere could she find a bookshop, or dress shop.

"Not much too this place, is there?" Came a familiar voice.

Ariadne jumped as she realized Mr. Eames had come up behind her.

"Oh, I was just wondering if there was anyplace to buy books. There doesn't even seem to be a public library." Ariadne told him as Phillipa held tightly to her hand.

"Afraid not." Eames sighed. "This isn't New York or Philadelphia. It's rotten, having to depend on the mail to ship everything to you." He said with a shrug. "My editor wants me to move to London, and I may do it in the spring."

"Your _editor_?" Ariadne asked in surprise as Phillipa tugged on her hand and pointed to a man selling candy and other treats from a brightly painted stand.  
"Allow me." Mr. Eames said and paid for three large, soft pretzels with lots of butter and salt. "Worth the walk, huh?" He laughed as the hot bread was heaven on such a cool afternoon.

She smiled as they walked back to the estate.

"You have an editor; for what exactly?" Ariadne asked.

"I'm a writer. Not a great one, but I love it and I've been published." Eames remarked. Brandishing a notebook he was carrying.

"Really?" Ariadne asked hopefully.

"Yes, really." Eames laughed. "I'm working on a new book of poems and short stories."

"You're a poet?" Ariadne exclaimed. "I write short stories to. I mean, none of them are worthy of getting published, I know."  
"Don't say that." Eames told her. "I never thought my work was good enough to be published, but others disagreed. If you like, I can give you the number for my agent. Writing won't make you rich, but there is more to life then money. Isn't there?"

"I guess so." Ariadne said feel giddy with excitement.  
"What kind of things do you write about?" Eames asked.  
"I like to write about fantasy things. I've been working on a story about these men, who the gods built like steam engines; all gears and springs. They were brainless automatons who the gods had build their great castle in the sky. The men they built were slaves to the gods, until one day, they revolted." She told him.

"Hmm. That sound interesting. Very political if you ask me. Magazines love thinly veiled political fables." Eames told her.

"Really? You think it's a good idea?" Ariadne asked.  
"I think it's a great idea. I want you to work on it and we can send it off." Eames told her.

"How is it political? I mean, it's metal men building castles for the gods." Ariadne said wrinkling her nose.

"The metal men are the poor. The impoverished and the destitute. The gods are the wealthy. The ruling class." Eames explained. "A revolt is coming, Ariadne." Eames said seriously as Phillipa ran ahead of them to chase a bunny that had hopped over the lane.

"What kind of change?" Ariadne asked.  
"We live in a world of extreme decadence." Eames explained. But it's built on the backs of the less privileged. Our lives, our comforts, are there because someone else has worked for too little money to make a dress, clean a house, or cook a dinner. When the poor become so poor that they can no longer feed themselves, they will have no choice but to eat the rich." Eames explained.

Ariadne thought about this. About the children in London with rags for clothing and thin little faces. How perilously close she would always be to joining their ranks, should anyone find out the truth of her and Arthur.


	21. Chapter 21

2.

~ "The grounds here are as old as the house." Miles was telling Arthur that morning as the two of them wandered around the impressive gardens and topiary animals.

"Four generations of the same family have worked on these grounds and trimmed these hedges; planted these roses." The butler explained to the new lord.

There was a slight chill in the air, but Arthur didn't care. He was too happy to feel anything short of energized joy this morning.

His lovely bride was still on his mind. His time with her last night had been better then any time since he met her. Better then any time with any other woman. Her large calf like eyes, her feathery light hair. Her skin, as fair and soft as cream to his touch.

He had wanted to stay in bed with her all day. Wanted her body to keep nourishing him back to health, but she had escaped him. Shyly stealing away the way a proper lady should. This little game; made him want her all the more.

He had meant what he told her last night. He would give her anything she wished. If she wanted to go back to the states, he would abandon Blue Rivers and the cursed title, and go back home. He had realized at dinner last night, that she was all he needed or wanted. He felt happier and more complete when he was with her. He found himself wanting to be a better man; for her.

He wanted to love her. Not just as a convenient wife, but as man loves a woman with the violent affections he never thought he would find within his heart.

"The rose garden, sir." Miles said showing him a massive array of red roses that grew bright and colorful out of the greenery.

"They'll be alright when the winter comes, but these will be the last blooms in this garden till spring." Miles added.

"Miles." Arthur said feeling a giddy rush of happiness wash over him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you have the gardener cut a dozen of the finest blooms and have them sent to my lady's room? I think she would like them." Arthur told the butler.

Miles gave him a knowing little smile.

"I think she would be delighted that you thought of her, sir." Miles said.  
"Before dinner? I want it to be a surprise." Arthur said looking over the last of the blooms.  
"Certainly, sir." Miles said. "May I say, sir, that it's very nice to have such a charming young couple in this house again."

Arthur nodded and made some excuse of having to go back to work.

~ "Mr. Eames, this is exquisite work." Ariadne said reading over his hand scrawled poems that didn't always rhyme.

She and Eames were sitting in the conservatory and reading each others stories.

Phillipa was back to her water coloring. The little girl seemed content, even if she didn't speak.  
"Thank you." Eames said as his eyes was glued to her notebook.

Ariadne found the last entry in his notebook and decided to read it out loud. All of Eames' poems had been so thrilling. Like an adventure, she wanted to read this last one aloud, and making it live outside her head.

"_Such is a lady, _

_I want as mine.  
Such is a woman, _

_I need in dark times. _

_Such is a beauty, _

_I need to touch._

_Such is a-"_

Eames roughly pulled the notebook out of her hands.

"That's private." He grumbled and looked embarrassed.

Ariadne felt she had intruded on some part of his life.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Eames." She whispered. "I thought it was alright to read them."

"No, forgive me." Eames said. "It is alright to read them. I just..." He shook his head and they sat in silence for a moment.

Ariadne blushed harder, it that were possible.  
"You know, you never told me how you and Arthur met. I need to know where I can go to find such a wonderful wife." Eames said after a few awkward seconds.

"Oh!" Ariadne said in surprise. She had not given any thought to how she and Arthur had met. It would have to be a lie, but one so close to the truth, it would not need embellishments.  
"We met at a train station." She told him at last.

Eames nodded.

"Yes, I was in New York." She went on.

"Waiting for a train?" Eames offered.

"Yes." Ariadne laughed. "I was in the first class waiting room. It was also a restaurant and there was no where to sit. Arthur was dinning alone and offered me a seat with him."

She had to admit, that was plausible, and very true. They had first met at a train station waiting room.

"And you two just hit it off?" Eames said with a smile. His eyes alight with some inner workings she didn't see.  
"Oh yes. We understood one another right away." Ariadne admitted with a forced smile.

Phillipa started humming a little tune. Oblivious to the awkwardness.

Eames cleared his throat.  
"I was very happy to hear you're expecting. I know you'll be a wonderful mother." He said.

She smiled.  
"I guess I haven't given the whole thing as much thought as I should have. What with the move and all." She admitted.

"Well, we must prepare for the arrival. We have a lovely nursery that has held all the Bradford children for generations. But I'll expect you would want your own pram and what not. We can make a special trip to London next month before your confinement." Eames said with a smile. "Just promise me you won't be one of these mothers who hands the infant to a wet nurse or nanny as soon as it's born."

"Oh no, I've already decided against it. No governess either. I intend on teaching Phillipa myself as a matter of fact." Ariadne said stubbornly

"Good to hear. I despise these so called mothers who give the care of their child over to a stranger." Eames said darkly. "It needs to stop. Is Arthur exited about the prospect of being a father?"

Ariadne caught her breath.  
"Arthur doesn't get excited about many things." She explained tactfully as they watched Phillipa paint.

"Ariadne, I think my publisher would love your story. I would like to write to him about it. How would you like to see your name in print?" He asked.

"Do you really think it's at that level?" She gasped.

"I do. There are a great deal of stories being published in magazines now. None of them are half as good as this. At the very least, we could talk to a private publisher. Have your stories done in a book for yourself." He said.

"Eames, that would be a dream come true." Ariadne laughed.  
"We just need an ending." Eames told her with a smile.

~ Ariadne almost flew up the stairs that evening for dinner. It was starting to rain and she, Eames and Phillipa had spent almost the entire day in the conservatory talking about books and politics. It was the kind of conversations she had always dreamed of having with someone. Eames was well read and informed on all the causes and movements. He had traveled all over the world and spoke of Bombay, and Rome as if those places were just a trip down the road. She was shocked that such a man was in agreement with woman's rights and the struggle of the lower classes.

Her hopes for being published made her head swell with possibilities. It was a life long dream come true. Mr. Eames had thought her work was good enough to send to his own editor. He was going to help her get her story in a magazine; perhaps a book one day. She was giddy with excitement.

She threw open her bedroom door to dress for dinner and was greeted with an elegant blue vase; a dozen long stemmed red roses branching out of it. It's presence taking up the entire center table of the room.

"Do you like them?" Arthur asked.

She jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to see her husband coming out of a corner.

"Yes." She said plainly. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. She hadn't thought of Arthur since this morning. Spending all her time with Eames and Phillipa, hidden away in the conservatory, had kept her distracted from thoughts of him.

"Miles showed me the rose garden and said these were the last roses we would see till spring." Arthur whispered as he nuzzled her neck. His breath tickling her skin as his large hands encircled her waist.  
"They're beautiful." She whispered truthfully.  
"What did you do today, darling?" He asked.

"Oh, well I wrote some letters. My parents and to our friends we made on the crossing. I told them, with my condition, and possible renovations to the house, we won't be hosting any events or parties this season. From what you told me about Blue Rivers finances, I thought it would be the most diplomatic thing to do." She told him as his lips on her ear lobe made her lose her train of thought.

"Very diplomatic, darling." Arthur whispered. His warm, wet breath making her breathing come hard and uneven.

"Arthur." She mewed as his large hands were roaming over her blouse. His fingers carelessly popping off her buttons.

"We have to get dressed for dinner." She said moving away from him.

A deep blush tinting her cheeks as she escaped his hold for the second time that day.  
"What would you say if we went back to America?" Arthur asked. A playful, wolf like smile on his lips as he looked her over.

"What?" Ariadne laughed.

"What if we just went home? To hell with Blue Rivers." Arthur said casually.

"I thought the whole point of your marrying me was to take Blue Rivers. The title your grandfather was denied. You made that very clear to me yesterday." She reminded him.  
"I know, and I'm sorry for that. Wanting Blue Rivers, that's how it started." Arthur conceded. "But the real reason I married you... was much more selfish." He said reaching out for her again.

She stepped away from him.

"Arthur, we have to go down for dinner. We can talk about this later." She told him.

"Very well." Arthur said with a shrug. "But I'm telling Miles we need a room together. I detest sleeping alone now."

~ She breathed a deep sigh of relief when he was gone.

What had gotten into him? It was like he couldn't keep his hands to himself. He wasn't drunk like last night, but it was as if they truly were newlyweds.

Just yesterday, she would have jumped at the idea of going back home. However, talking to Eames, the dream of her stories seeing print, she had suddenly changed her mind.

**Going to see LOOPER today. Oh yeah, back it on up, baby!**


	22. Chapter 22

3.

~ Dinner was another long, boring affair. Lady Percy had little to say as Eames and Arthur carried most of the conversation. Ariadne was surprised that Mr. Eames didn't look at, or talk to her very much as they ate.

The two of them had shared most of the day together, yet not a word of it crossed Eames' lips in front of Arthur or Lady Percy. Instead, he asked Arthur about hunting.

"Again, not much need for shooting in New York." Arthur said as the party enjoyed a fine dinner of quail and black berry sauce.

"I shall have to teach you. Before the spring comes again. We Bradford men are always up for the country sports of riding and shooting. You will have to learn." Eames said encouragingly.

"I'm afraid I have a great deal of work to do. If Ariadne and I do decide to stay at Blue Rivers, we will have to settle some things first." Arthur said looking at Ariadne.

"_Decide_ to stay?" Lady Percy asked curtly. "Why, I thought you had already decided to stay."

"No, madam. Not exactly." Arthur admitted.

"You'll be leaving?" Eames asked casting a worried look at Ariadne. She looked back at her soup.

"When will you leave us?" Eames asked. Not able to hide the pain in his voice.  
"I'm not sure. We'll have to arrange passage back. Nothing is set in stone." Arthur told him.  
"I don't think there will be any hurry." Ariadne said sitting a little straighter and avoiding Mr. Eames' gaze.

Arthur turned to her. She avoided his eyes as well.

"We just got here after all, I think it will be quite some time before we go back to America." She said at last.

~ Ariadne had tucked Phillipa into bed and read to her from the second Peter Rabbit book. The little girl whispering to her tonight about how she saw Mrs. Rabbit on the lane to Blue Rivers.  
"I saw her to." Ariadne whispered back and kissed the little girl on the head.

Phillipa giggled and then looked serious.

"Will you be leaving?" She whispered in a sad, broken little voice.  
"No, bunny. We won't."

"That man said you would."

"I know; but we're not leaving." Ariadne whispered.

"If you go away, I won't like it." Phillipa said after some thought.

"Which is why we're not going away. I need my little bunny friend, don't I?"

~ Her husband was waiting for her in her flowery bedroom when she came to bed.  
"So, now you wish to stay?" Arthur asked.

Ariadne let out an exhausted sighed. She was so tired and didn't want to argue with Arthur tonight.  
"I do." She admitted. Her eyes shying away from his. "This place has grown on me."

"After just a day?" He questioned.

"You grew on me after just a day." She told him. "You'll recall we had our doubts about each other our first few hours."

Arthur nodded and let out a long sigh.

"You realize how much of a commitment it would mean; to live here full time?" Arthur asked as the couple started to undress for bed. Ariadne turning her back to Arthur as she undid her own dress and corset. She had never needed much help undress as dressing. It was feet much less complicated as she pulled free the layers of clothing till she was almost naked.  
"I know it won't be easy." She admitted. Her night gown slipping over her head as she was certain Arthur was watching her.

"Perhaps I can write to a few of my contacts. See what can be done about investing in Ford's company as soon as possible." Arthur said.  
"I thought you said you weren't going to invest any of your own money in Blue Rivers." Ariadne said as she dove into the warmth of her bed. Her husband still undressing by the dim lighting of a kerosene lamp.

"I certainly won't be buying the stock on margin." Arthur grumbled as he folded his pants up and eagerly climbed into bed with her. His long arms and legs taking up too much room.  
"I don't know what that means." Ariadne admitted.  
"It means to taking out a loan from your broker to buy stock. It's no different then borrowing money and gambling with it." Arthur told her.  
"Not a smart thing to do." Ariadne said after some thought.

"You're right, it's not. Which is why I don't do it. But plenty of people do, and it pays off for them." Arthur said.

She watched as Arthur thought out loud. Talking more to himself then to her.

"If I invested with Ford and maybe a few other upstarts, I might be able to start making a return right away. Maybe I could even see about opening a factory in London or even near the village. It would be small of course. Maybe with the telephone, there is a lot of potential for it here; and not just for the upper class. I've made an acquaintance in London who thinks we can run telephone lines all over England. Maybe we could construct an operating hub here in the village. It wouldn't be much, but it would a better economy for the community. Work for more of the locals. Maybe get a few tenants back." Arthur mused. His face becoming softer as he worked out his problems.

Ariadne said nothing as she listened to him. A warm glow of affection for him stirring inside her.

"You know while we were at the railway station in London, I saw a telephone box that people actually _pay_ to use. No clerk was involved, no lines in people's homes. It was all automated and public. I think there is some potential in that. It would be a low start up cost in a denser urban location."

"You have a real head for business." She said with a healthy does of respect for her husband.

"I should hope so." Arthur chuckled.

He turned to her.  
"Ariadne, I am sorry about what I said yesterday. With the news of Blue Rivers, the move and Lady Percy... I know that's no excuse." He said sadly.

"Arthur, we both know why I married you. And why you married me. We don't have to pretend it's anything more than that. In fact, it would be easier if we just... remained friends." She said. "I mean... we make good friends. We don't have to be more. Not when we're alone we don't."

"Ariadne." Arthur sighed. "I don't want to be friends. I want to be your husband, and I want all that comes with that."

"But you don't want my child." She said meekly.

Arthur said nothing. He looked caught off guard.  
She tried to hold back a sob, and failed.  
"You know, for my entire pregnancy, there has been only one person who has been really excited about the baby. That's Mr. Eames. I mean, Maura was happy for me because she wants me to be happy. Everyone else looks at me now as if I'm a burden, or I'm weak, or they give me this worried expression. Like I won't be a good mother and will need nannies and wet nurses. My own father won't even speak to me. He called me a whore when he found out, and I was driven out of my childhood home. I married you because I was so afraid of what might happen to me, alone in this world with a child. I never expected you to care for me or my baby. So, it's alright." She said brushing off her tears. "It's just... it was nice to have Mr. Eames so happy when he heard about the baby. No one else seemed so glad when they heard the news."

"Ariadne." Arthur started to say, but she cut him of. Her tears falling freely now.  
"I know. I know, you promised to be the father on paper. It's apart of our bargain. But you can't love me and not love my child, Arthur. So, please don't try."

As if ending their conversation, the candle suddenly ran out of wick to burn and left them in darkness.

**OKAY! So, just saw "Looper". An awesome movie and it is now my #2 on my all time best JGL movies. Very "Terminator" kinda vibe to it. JGL was sexy and he was a total boss in it. Much like Arthur. I love a guy who is sexy and dangerous. I like geeky JGL, but I love boss JGL more. **

** My fave JGL movies are:**

**#1. Inception **

**#2. Looper **

**#3. DKR**

**#4. Uncertainty**

**#5. 50/50**

** What was going through my mind as I was watching this was: if you could go back in time and talk to your younger self about anything at all, (aside from winning lotto numbers) what would it be? Would you warn yourself of something, or give your younger self advice?**

** For me, about 13 years ago, I started to gain a lot of weight. I'm not talking a little weight either. I was about 70 to 80lbs overweight, and I was like that for almost 10 years. When it was really bad, I was not menstruating because of the weight and I was so depressed. I looked horrible and felt horrible. My sex drive was so low, because of the weight, it caused a lot of distress in my marriage and I was in my 20s. Which was too young to be like that. **

** I had no idea how to make it better, and I lied to myself a lot about how bad it really was.**

** Then, I started to eat right and go to the gym and lost over 50lbs in about a years time. My sex drive came screaming back, obviously, and my health improved greatly. I still have a ways to go, but I'm pleased with my figure now. I think it suits me. **

** If I could go back in time and warn my younger self about anything, it would be to keep eating healthy, and stay away from soda and fried foods. **

** Also, just to be fair and brave, I've changed my profile pic. It won't take effect for 24 hours... but that is really me. The pic on the left was when I was almost 270lbs back in 2006. The one on the right was taken right before I went to see the movie today. So, yeah. **

** I lost the weight the hard way. I ate right and went to the gym five days a week and took up yoga and biking. I've kept it off for about 3 years now. LOL. I don't show ANYONE the before picture because I am still so ashamed I let it get that bad. **

** Never again! **

** Other then eating poorly, I really don't have any regrets. I think our trials in life make us better people. Some of them I would change to make my life easier, but I wouldn't be the same person if I did that. **

** I want to hear from you guys as to what you would do differently if you had the chance. **


	23. Chapter 23

**Part V**

**Confinement**

1.

_Blue Rivers _

_December 1912_

~ Ariadne woke to the sounds of the maid cleaning and readying the morning fire. Arthur was snoring lightly beside her as she watched the stocky scullery maid quickly build and light the fireplace, then leave them once more.

A month since arriving at Blue Rivers, she still woke up when the maid came to light the fires. She doubted she would ever grow accustomed to the silent intruder to their bed chambers each morning.

She found it strange that she almost never saw the servants in this great house. Evidence of their presence was everywhere. The furnishings were always free of dust and her clothes were always laundered and placed neatly back in her wardrobe. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at exact times, and the whole of the house ran as if on some unbreakable routine of perfect order.

She roused herself out of bed then. Her body feeling unbearably heavy as she had to force herself to part with the comforts of her warm bedding.

Snow had found them a few weeks ago, and Blue Rivers was freezing cold in the winter. A cold she wasn't prepared for.

~ In the month they had been here, Arthur had electricity installed in the parlor, dinning room, library and a few of the upstairs bedrooms. It had been a massive operation with rough workmen in the house drilling holes in walls and causing a loud commotion. It was a task and her husband had taken to with unflinching determination; soon dragging Blue Rivers, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century.

Lady Percy would not allow electricity in her bedroom or in her private sitting room. She also let her protests known when Arthur described his plans for opening a telegraph office as well as a phone operating hub in the village.

Eames had applauded the idea, but Lady Percy had worried that it might attract the wrong type of people to the area.

So busy was Arthur with his modernizing and plans for Blue Rivers, that Ariadne's outburst about his not accepting her child had fallen to the wayside.

Ariadne had been busy with her stories. She had already heard back from Mr. Eames' editor about her metal men. Asking for more of her work. She and Phillipa would hide in the conservatory each day as Arthur nearly gave Lady Percy heart failure over, what she considered, a violation to the family home by and outsider.

As a result of their hobbies, they didn't speak of the child much. Only to casually mention that she had ordered some small thing for the nursery.

Her husband attempting to show an interest in a being he had yet to met.

~ "Arthur." Ariadne said slipping on her winter coat. It was still too cold in the room to not wear it.

Her husband slept on.

"Arthur wake up. You have to get dressed. You have a train to catch." She said shaking him awake.

He opened one eye and peered at her lazily.

"What time is it, madam?" He grumbled.

"It's six o'clock. You have to get dressed now if you want to be at the station by nine." She told him as she started to take out his traveling clothes. They had finally been able to move into their own room together. Although, Lady Percy had argued that the sleeping arrangements was a passing infatuation. She had Miles keep the other room at the ready for when Ariadne changed her mind, and no longer wanted to sleep with her husband.

Arthur was meeting Mr. Cobb in London and the two of them were going to finalize negotiations for the telephone hub in the village. A Mr. Yuseff would be overseeing the entire operation. Arthur had described him as a well mannered man who was very experienced in telegraphs and the new technology of phones.

Arthur gave his wife a petulant moan, and threw his covers off.

Ariadne shook her head. She wasn't going to feel sorry for him.  
"If I have to get up. So do you." She told him briskly.

These days, her condition was more pronounced. A local doctor by the name of Richards, had come by the large house and kindly told her that she would have her "visitor" no later than March. She doubted she could hold out that long. Her body already feeling so heavy, she couldn't see how she could get any bigger.

The couple dressed in silence. Arthur helping her tie up a specially made maternity dress for her. The best thing about her condition was no more corsets. Her body was allowed to breath and expand as nature intended.

"When do you think you'll be home?" Ariadne asked as she followed him down the early morning hallways. Nothing was stirring in the halls as most of the family and staff were still sleeping this early.

"Thursday at the latest." He told her. "Hopefully, everything will go well and we can get home a little early."

She climbed into the passenger side of the car with him and they drove out of Blue Rivers in the morning darkness. The snow making the gardens and landscape silent and still.

~ The train station was a short drive from the house. It was a cozy little building, with a fire crackling in a Franklin style stove. They had told none of the family that Arthur was going to London for a week. This business venture was just as likely to fail as it was to succeed. The fewer people who knew, the better.  
"Will you be needing anything in London while I'm there?" Arthur asked her as they waited for the train. The dawn had seeped into the sky and brightened up the dreary morning.

"No. Nothing at all." Ariadne assured him for the hundredth time.

"Will you be alright taking the car back to the house?"

"Yes. I've been driving everyday for a week now."

"Just go slow and steady." He told her.  
"I know." She said automatically.  
"You're certain you don't want to join me?" He asked hopefully.  
She smiled.  
"It's too late for that, and I'm in confinement, Arthur." She told him. Her hands going to her now pronounced belly. "Can you imagine me on the train like this?" She said with a laugh.

"I can bring you back something for the baby then." Arthur persisted. "What do you need?"

"I have everything I need. I've ordered a pram from a catalog, it arrived two weeks ago. I've also ordered some very nice clothes for the baby and other things. They arrive all the time." She said.

The past month, Arthur had been making an effort to show interest in the child that wasn't his. Yet all his efforts seemed to fall short of Ariadne's expectations.

She wanted Arthur to touch her growing body, a thing he would often shy away from. She wanted him to talk about baby names and their plans for the child's future. Instead, she had to talk about them with Eames and see the knowledge of her condition haunting Arthur's eyes. Knowledge that she would have a child who would have his name and be his heir, but belonged to another man.

"Ariadne, I'm trying." Arthur sighed at last. Breaking her out of her thoughts.

She looked at her husband. His hand clenching the armrest of the bench they were seated at. His knuckles turning white.

"I know you are." She whispered. "I was thinking of... um... Juniper if it's a girl, and Thomas if its a boy." She offered.

Arthur nodded. She so rarely gave him anything about the baby these days and he latched onto it like a drowning man.

"I like those names." He told her. His eyes lighting up.  
"Yes. Juniper was Mr. Eames' suggestion if it's a girl. I've always wanted a boy named Thomas." She said with a smiled.

"Why Thomas?" Arthur asked.  
"Thomas is my father's name." She told him.

"Well, then we're not naming him that." Arthur said bluntly.

She felt her face fall.  
"Why not?" She asked humoring him.

"I'm not allowing my son to be named after a man who called my wife a whore." Arthur stated simply. His brow pulling into that scowl that meant the subject was closed and nothing more was to be said about the matter.  
She felt herself stop breathing. He had called the baby his son. Said it so casually, anyone would swear it was the truth.

"Arthur." She said at last

"Yes. Arthur is a good name. Why not add that to the list?" Her husband offered.

She smiled.

A massive steam engine roared into the station with loud pistons and metal grinding on metal.

A man in a smart little uniform was telling everyone it was the 9 o'clock to London.  
"Time to go." Arthur sighed and they stood.

"You have your bags?" She asked and he nodded. "Send a telegram when you get to there so I'll know you're safe."

"I will." He said as they walked out into the cold morning. A small group of travelers were going to third class on the train. Arthur would be alone in first.

He turned to his wife and kissed her plainly on the cheek.  
"Arthur?" She asked as he was about to leave. He turned back to her. His eyes hopeful.

"Maybe, you could bring back a bassinet? Something nice for the baby? Whatever you decide will be fine." She told him bravely.

He held her gaze and nodded.

"I'd be happy to, darling." He said as a loud whistle pierced the air.

He was about to turn and leave her when she pulled on his coat.

"I think Arthur... is a good name... for our son." She said feeling ready to cry.

He husband set down his bags on the train and stepped back on the platform. His handkerchief was out in a second and he was dabbing her eyes.  
"I'm glad. I really am... about the baby. I'm sorry I wasn't before. I'll try harder, I swear it." He whispered as he was hugging her and she was crying like a child.

"Sir? It's all aboard, sir." A station manager said to them.

"I have to go. I want you to drive the car back _slowly_. No rush to get back to Blue Rivers, alright?" He ordered her as she was nodding and crying so hard she could barely see.

She watched him retreat to first class and wave at her from the window. The train pulling noisily away from her.

"There, there, missus." The station manager said as she dried her eyes on Arthur's handkerchief. "It's not a forever goodbye is it?"

"No." Ariadne sniffed. "No, it's just a week."

The station manager smiled and guided her back inside where it was warm.

"No more tears then. Lucky man, to have a fine lady like you miss him so." he said.


	24. Chapter 24

2.

~ The drive back to Blue Rivers was slow and very cold. Ariadne had done as Arthur said, and waited till almost noon to drive back. The sun had warmed things up a little, but she wasn't used to the bracing cold of North England.

She had been practicing driving, but had never done it alone. The car went too fast for her as it jostled along the bumps in the road.  
~ "Bloody hell!" Eames shouted as the car pulled into the snow covered driveway. He looked angry at seeing her pull up to the house.

"Mr. Eames! Language!" Lady Percy snapped as the old woman joined them in greeting Ariadne in her triumphant return to Blue Rivers.  
"Ariadne, are you alright? What were you thinking? Going out for a drive in this weather?" Eames huffed as he helped her out of the drivers seat.

"What will your husband say to that?" Lady Percy asked. A certain smugness on her face.

Ariadne smiled.

"Well, Lady Percy, before you run off and tell him, I should have mentioned he will be in London for a week. Talking to his solicitor and to Mr. Yuseff." Ariadne said with a smile.

"More of that nonsense?" Lady Percy scowled. "I thought I made my opinions quite clear on that matter."

"You did." Ariadne told her as she walked proudly into the house. "But yours isn't the only opinion worth listening to."

Miles greeted the family as they came back into the warm parlor

"We were worried, your ladyship." the butler said with a little bow.

"Maura went into your shared room and discovered the two of you were gone. We feared the worst." Mrs. Abbot said haughtily. Scowling at her mistress.

"No reason for alarm, Mrs. Abbot. Arthur had a train to catch and we didn't want the horses out in this cold. I drove myself back." Ariadne said.  
"Madam!" Lady Percy suddenly barked. Like magic, Miles and Mrs. Abbot vanished down unseen hallways, leaving the three family members alone.

Ariadne turned to the older woman in shock.

"Madam, you are in a delicate condition. What were you thinking leaving the house in this weather? Driving a car no less. I have no idea how they do things in America, but in this house, you will abide by the laws of decency. You are clearly showing your condition now and it is not fitting to be seen in public. Not to mention the fact you might have had an accident and done great harm to yourself and the innocent child." Lady Percy said. Her horse face contorting angrily.

"I'm afraid I must agree." Eames said passively. "Arthur shouldn't have brought you out with him. It was dangerous."

"Nonsense." Ariadne scoffed. "I am a married woman. I am not a slave to my husband or his family. I will do as I please! If I wish to drive a car, I will. If I wish to be seen, I will."

"Miles!" Lady Percy shouted.

The congenial butler appeared once more.

"Lady Percy?" he asked with a little bow.

"Tell the carriage driver to take the car into the garage and remove it's wheels. He can put them back when Arthur returns. Make certain all the staff knows that Lady Bradford here is not to leave this house and not to receive any visitors." Lady Percy ordered.

"Hold on a moment!" Ariadne cried. An anger boiling up in her. "You can't do that."

"I can. If you like, I can even have the doctor and constable come to lock you in your rooms for the benefit of the child." Lady Percy informed her.

Ariadne turned to her only friend in the house now that Arthur was gone.

"Eames!" She shouted.  
"Ariadne, lets just go upstairs and rest. You've had a long day already." Eames said. A worried look clouding his face.

"No!" She shouted.  
"Miles!" Lady Percy shouted. "Fetch doctor Miller at once and tell him Lady Bradford needs a sedative to calm her nerves."

"Miles! If you do that, I will make certain Arthur knows about it upon his return and you will be dismissed." Ariadne threatened.  
"How big you talk. As I recall, you were not able to convince your husband to let Mrs. Abbot go. You're just a stupid child. Oh yes, you are just a child! You will do as I say in this house. If I desire you to stay in your room till your husband returns, then that is precisely what you shall do." Lady Percy snapped "Maura!" She shouted as Eames was holding Ariadne back.

"You horrible old woman, I'll leave this house today and _walk_ to the village! When Arthur returns, he will hear about this!" Ariadne screamed as Eames tried to calm her.

"Missus?" Maura appeared by Lady Percy.

"You're far too slow, girl. Take Lady Bradford upstairs to her room and ensure she doesn't leave it. Lock her in. She is in confinement." Lady Percy ordered.  
"Maura, you do not take your orders from Lady Percy!" Ariadne shouted over Eames.

"Ladies!" Eames barked suddenly as the women of the house glared daggers at one another.

"Mr. Eames, you have no say in these affairs. You know nothing about child bearing." Lady Percy Barked.  
"Not to be rude, Aunt, but neither do you." Eames hissed to the old woman.

Ariadne stood a little straighter.

He turned to Ariadne.

"Lets go and sit in the conservatory. Leave her to fume for the rest of the day." He offered.

Ariadne was breathing hard.  
"Don't let the old bat upset you, darling." Eames whispered as he took her hand and the two of them left Lady Percy to her furry.


	25. Chapter 25

3.

~ "I don't understand that woman!" Ariadne cried.

They were once more in the safety of the conservatory. Snow encrusting the glass as living plants grew around them. A stove was in the back to provide heat for the plants as well as human visitors.

"Arthur and I are trying to help her. Trying to help Blue Rivers, and she fights us at every turn." She said as she paced up and down the little sitting room of the conservatory.

"Ariadne, please sit down. I don't want you getting yourself so upset." Eames pleaded.

"No. I'll sit when I want to, thank you." She snapped at him.

Maura came in with some tea.  
"Missus, I'm so sorry I allowed Lady Percy to speak to you like that." The maid wailed.  
"It's alright Maura." Ariadne said as her maid looked visibly shaken.  
"I would never chose her over you, Missus. If you wanted to leave tonight, I would help you and walk with you to the inn and everything!" Maura insisted.  
"Maura, that won't be necessary. Nothing bad is going to happen." Eames sighed as the scruffy ladies main wiped her runny nose on her sleeve. "That will be all Maura." he added.

"Alright." Maura said meekly. "Missus, some post came for you this morning. I put it on the tray here." She added.

~ When Maura left, Ariadne finally took a seat across from Eames. Her head was starting to hurt as he poured her a hot cup of tea and added a generous amount of sugar.

His next words were very calm.

"Ariadne, I was worried sick. Maura found your bedroom empty and the car was gone. You could have at least told _me_ where you were going. I thought you and I were friends. Then, to see you drive up in the car. Driving through all that snow and in your condition? It was foolish."

Ariadne glared at him. His words hurting her.

"It was foolish." Eames said with a certain amount of steel in his voice. "You could have slid on some ice and had an accident. You could have been killed. What was Arthur thinking when he let you drive home alone? You Americans all think you're immune to danger, but your not."

"Eames." She breathed out. "I was careful coming back." She felt her only friend was now mad at her.

"I know you were. I'm glad you're alright." He sighed. "I loved a woman once. She was just as head strong as you. I let her do as she pleased because, with the confidence of youth, I thought we were invincible to the world. We are not. She died of influenza, and I lost her. I lost my whole life. I refuse to lose you." Eames hissed. His eyes taking on a menacing quality she had never seen before.  
"We didn't mention Arthur's leaving to anyone because we didn't want to cause a fuss." She admitted bowing her head. Her hands going to the roundness of her child.

"Well, that didn't work out very well did it?" Eames laughed dryly.

She bowed her head again. Eames, her only friend, was angry at her. He was hiding it well behind a cool exterior, but he was angry. She choked back a sob.  
"Don't cry. Please don't get upset. It's bad for the baby." He told her gently. "Above all else, we have to think of the baby."

"I know. I'm sorry." She whispered. Dabbing her eyes with Arthur's handkerchief. She wished her husband was home right now. Lady Percy would never have spoken to her if Arthur was here.

Eames was right. She had been foolish. As foolish as she had been when she went to museums in Paris against Arthur's wishes. As foolish as she had been to give into Jeffery when she knew she shouldn't. She seemed destined to follow that rebellious thread that ran bright and garish in the tapestry of her life.

"I'm going to speak to Lady Percy. The two of you are going to have your meals apart from now on I think." Eames offered as he stood up.  
"I'm sorry, Eames." She whispered.

Her friend leaned down and kissed her cheek. His lips warm on her skin.

"I'll be back, and we can have lunch." he promised. "Work on our stories. Don't forget your letter."

Ariadne watched him leave and sadly turned her attention to her letter. She had received much correspondence from the late Lord Brandfords inner circle of friends. Most of them dry and simpering. She jumped when she saw the $1 US postal stamp of Ben Franklin on the envelope. This letter was from America.

Her hands were shaking as she opened the envelope. Her eyes immediately recognizing her mother's girlish scrawl. It was the first word she had heard from her mother since the day she left home to meet a stranger named Arthur.

_Ariadne,_

_ I am pleased you have found your new home obliging and that Arthur is a gracious husband to you. Your situation could have resulted in a much more dire ordeal for you. I won't renew my feelings of how disappointed we are in a daughter who had so much potential, only to give herself to a married man and become disgraced to her family and community. You have the rest of your life to understand and make contrition to your sins of the flesh. _

_ I can assure you, that your life will be a hard road. No matter what comforts Arthur gives you house wise, he will see you as nothing more then a fallen woman. _

_ You father and I have done the best we could by you. We gave you breeding, education and society fitting elevation. Your repayment for all this shows poor character on your part. _

_ Your father doesn't wish to have any more dealings with you in the future and we both agree that you and your child should stay in England with your new husband. _

_ It would be best if we now sever the ties of communication with this last letter. It upsets me very much to receive letters from you. To be reminded that I have a daughter who has so disgraced me. It is easier to pretend you have died, then to know you are alive but living with your bastard. _

_ Please, let this be the end of our relationship and we can part company for good. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Mother. _

Ariadne let the letter fall to her lap. Her heart breaking. She had never been close to her mother or father. She was closer to the housekeeper and teachers at her school. They had been more like a mother to her. Still, to have to woman who gave birth to her, wish she was dead. How could such a thing happen? She would never wish her own baby was dead.

She leaned back in her chair and let that cold, creeping specter, known as sadness, cast it's dark shadow over her. It's blackness penetrating her heart.

She let people wound her so easily. With words, she let them tear into her flesh. What was worse, was that she had allowed herself to believe her mother and father would miss her and want to come see her and the baby. Would want to meet Arthur and learn he was a fine young man. Not the monster they obviously hoped she was forced to be stuck with. They hated her. Perhaps they always hated her. They wanted her miserable and unhappy. They sent her off to marry Arthur as a punishment for her affair with Jeffery. Not as a-

"Lady Bradford?" Came a clear professional voice.

Ariadne jumped and saw a man in a black coat walking into the conservatory. He had a black doctor's bag as he looked her over with beady, sunken eyes.

"Yes." Ariadne said sitting a little straighter.

"I am doctor Miller. Your family has asked I come and see you. They are worried about you." doctor Miller said.  
"You're not my doctor. I have my own in town. I am quite well, thank you for coming out. Your services are not needed." Ariadne said smoothing out her dress and tucking her letter in to the cushion of her chair.

"I'm afraid Lady Percy disagrees. She has explained to me the violent, self destructive behavior you have been committing against yourself and your own unborn child." doctor Miller said in his haughty manner she was learning to hate.

"Violent? I've done nothing violent." Ariadne argued.  
"Are you questioning me, young woman?" Doctor Miller said curtly. His sunken eyes turning black with anger.

She couldn't think of anything to say as two nurses in white habits emerged behind him.

"Doctor Miller, I am perfectly well. I will go see my routine doctor tomorrow and prove it." She said feeling like a cornered animal.

"In a motor car perhaps?" Doctor Miller asked sarcastically.

She realized she was breathing hard. Then came that terrible, foreboding feeling that a trap was being closed around her. The doctor and his nurses stared at her as if she were less then human. She wondered if animals felt the same way when they were ensnared with no where to run and death was eminent.

"Doctor, please leave." Ariadne said standing up.

Out of no where came a man in a dark blue uniform. He could only be law enforcement. His wide body blocking her escape.

"I'm going to give you a sedative. It will help to calm you down." doctor Miller said.  
"Absolutely not!" Ariadne shouted as she tried to move out of the conservatory. The portly guard blocking her and telling her to do as the good doctor said.

Suddenly, she felt the doctor take hold of her. His nurses, in their pristine white habits, holding her down as a sharp needle plunged into her hip.

"The wheelchair, nurse." The doctor called as Ariadne felt the effects of the drug immediately.

"Eames!" She cried out as her head felt heavy and she was being lowered into a wicker work wheelchair. "Maura!"

"Take her to the sick room. In the upstairs servants hall. Use the back stairs so no one will see." Lady Percy was saying.

"Eames!" Ariadne cried weakly as her world became a confusing dance of light and shadow. She could feel her body moving and she heard voices that bled into one long noise.

Then, she knew nothing at all. Her body floating in dreams.

**Okay, I totally forgot to mention "Stop Loss" and "Premium Rush" in my fav JGL movies. No excuse for not adding "Stop Loss" cuz it had Channing Tatum in it. Plus JGL was a soldier. Not WW2 soldier, but still. Also, it was filmed in Texas, not too far from where I was raised. So that's cool. **


	26. Chapter 26

4.

~ "A bassinet?" Cobb was laughing.

Arthur was looking at the overly frilly baby things. He was growing confused and he couldn't decide which bassinet to pick out. The sales lady was no help at all as she showed him Gothic style cradles with lacy bed clothes.

There was too many styles to look at. Too many factors to consider. If he was picking out clothes for himself or Ariadne, he could finish the job quickly. Not so with a baby. He had to select something she would like.

"Kid will have nightmares." Cobb chuckled as they looked at a particularly menacing cradle with spires.  
"She gave me one job." Arthur sighed; feeling defeated. "One job, and I'm failing at it."

"So you and Ariadne are getting along then?" Cobb asked. A smile flashing over his face as his eyes sparked happily. A teasing look that tormented his friend.

Arthur bit his lip and tried not to smile.  
"Yes. We are." She said formally.

Cobb chuckled and patted his old friend on the back.

"I'm glad. She seems to be good for you to. You look... happy." His friend concluded.

"I am happy." Arthur said. He had enough of all these ugly cradles and bassinets.

"Ma'am. This will do." He told the shop lady. The businessman in him making a sharp, tactical decision and selecting a baby bed that was well made, but very plain.  
"Wonderful. Now what about the bedding?" Cobb asked casually.

Arthur sighed and grumbled.

~ Yuseff proved to be just as capable as Arthur had hoped.

"We could provide phone service to the North of England very well from Blue Rivers. A hub there would be logical." he concluded. His neat little accent and knowledge compensating for his sloppy appearance. Yuseff was the type of man who had the know how, but not the capital or foresight to put his plans in motion. He would need Arthur for that.

"How soon could it be operational?" Arthur asked.

"Oh, a few months if we can have a building at the ready." Yuseff told them. "What with the happenings with Germany and Russia, we will need a fortified communications grid."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.  
"Don't you read the papers?" Yuseff asked.  
"He's been too busy picking out baby carriages." Cobb teased.  
"What do you mean, Germany and Russia?" Arthur asked.

"There are rumblings about invasions. Discontent over there. It might affect us sooner then we like." Yuseff told him in a whisper.  
"You can't mean war." Arthur stated.

"I do, sir." Yuseff told him. "Great Britain has increased its military spending by at least 50%. What else can it mean? If there is war, this country will be in it."

~ "Arthur, these are just rumors." Cobb assured his friend.

"I hope you're right." Arthur asked as he received a telegram from his business manager in New York.

After leaving Yuseff, Arthur insisted on wiring all his factory floor managers. All of them reporting the same news.

"Great Britain had been ordering large amounts of parts from my factories." Arthur said.

"What kind of parts?" Cobb asked.

"Well, we normally send them for cars and boilers; but the specifications, seem to be for tanks." Arthur said.

"Oh God." Cobb said in silent shock. "All those battles and unrest in Eastern Europe, what are the chances it will come here?"

"Very good. Why else would England be financing such a reserve of weapons?" Arthur asked.  
"You and Ariadne should go back to the states." Cobb said suddenly. "It's safer there."

Arthur was already ahead of him.

~ Ariadne felt herself slowly come awake. Her eyes feeling heavy and her vision blurry.

"There you are, ma'am." A disembodied voice called to her. "Drink this, it's just water."

Ariadne saw a white habit come into view.

"Arthur?" She croaked as the strange woman gave her water.

"No, ma'am." The woman with the white habit said. "You just rest. Doctor's orders."

"My baby." Ariadne said and tried to feel at her abdomen.

Her arms were restrained over her head.

Her mind fought against the haze as she realized her arms and legs were tired to a narrow little bed in a room she had never seen before.

"Where am I?" She shouted to the nurse. Her thinking still not clear as she tired to remember what had happened.  
"Rest easy, ma'am. Think of the baby." The nurse said.

"What have you done to me?" Ariadne cried as she tried to free herself of her restrains. The nurse seemed lost as to what to do and opened the only door in the small bedroom.

"Mrs. Abbot?" She called out to the hallway.

Ariadne was pulling at the bindings when she felt a strong hand pull her down by the hair.

Mrs. Abbot's ugly face was inches above hers.  
"Let me go!" Ariadne screamed.  
"The water basin and towel." Mrs. Abbot commanded.

"Let me go! I'll serve you with walking papers myself!" Ariadne shouted at the housekeeper.

"You need to calm yourself." Mrs. Abbot told her casually. "It's night time and we don't want the doctor to come back out here tonight on account of you.

"Maura!" Ariadne shouted. A hope that her friend, wherever she was, would hear her cries.

With swift movements, Mrs. Abbot placed a towel over her face. She held her down by her hair as she poured water over her mouth and nose.

The towel clung to Ariadne's face like a second skin. Cutting off her air supply, but allowing water to pour down her throat and up her nose.

Ariadne immediately began choking.

"Are you going to be a good girl?" Mrs. Abbot shouted over the sounds of gasping, choking and struggles for air.

Ariadne couldn't breath. She was drowning as more water poured into her mouth and the towel prevented her from taking in air.

"Lady Percy won't stand for you misbehaving. Nor will the doctor. Says your a danger to the baby!" Mrs. Abbot said.

Mercifully, she pulled the towel away from Ariadne's face. The rush of sweet oxygen greeted her. She took great gulps of air as Mrs. Abbot was asking her if she was going to behave.  
"Eames!" She screamed instead. Someone, anyone, had to hear her.

"I can see we're not!" Mrs. Abbot said curtly. Her torture of water continuing. Ariadne found she was drowning while tied to a bed. Her body fighting for air as she was sure her baby would die with her.

"Please!" She cried out as Mrs. Abbot asked her again is she was going to behave herself.

"Yes. I'll behave!" Ariadne cried as her hair and face were soaking wet. Her lungs rejecting the influx of water.

"Good. Now that wasn't hard, now was it? We not so prideful now, are we?" Mrs. Abbot said taking a dry towel and rubbing Ariadne's hair free of water.

"Change her bedding. We don't want her to catch cold." Mrs. Abbot told the nurse as she left.

Ariadne was in tears as the nurse left her tied to the bed while she put dry sheets on.

"My baby. Is my baby okay?" Ariadne asked the nurse in the white habit.  
"Of course he is. You're lucky Lady Percy cares enough about him to protect him from your dark moods. You were out to hurt the baby." The nurse said.  
"No." Ariadne told her. "Please, you have to call my husband, Arthur. Or my friend Eames. At least have my maid come and look after me."

"Lady Percy has left strict instructions that we look after you." The nurse said.  
"Listen to me!" Ariadne growled. "My husband pays the bills at Blue Rivers. NOT Lady Percy. Lady Percy has no money to pay for yours or doctor Miller's services. He wouldn't want anyone but Maura to look after me. Go and get her!"

"Do I need to call Mrs. Abbot in here again?" The nurse asked.

A cold chill crept over Ariadne's spine. She shook her head.  
"Alright then. Try to go to sleep, dear." The nurse said.


	27. Chapter 27

5.

~ Ariadne tried to rest. Tried to stay calm as the nurse in the white habit kept guard over her. But her wrists were still tightly lashed down and she could barely move.

"Nurse?" Ariadne said as sweetly as she could.

"What is it?" The nurse asked.  
"I must go to washroom." She said.

"What for?" the nurse asked. "It's very late."  
"What do you mean what for?" Ariadne said with a forced laugh. "I should think it would be self explanatory."

"Oh, I can untie you so you can use the chamber pot, ma'am." The nurse said.  
"Can't use the chamber pot in this case, nurse. I don't mean to sound indelicate." Ariadne told her.

The nurse sighed.  
"Alright. But keep quite. I don't want to have to rouse Mrs. Abbot again." the nurse grumbled.  
"No. No, of course not." Ariadne agreed as the nurse undid her restraints.

Her body felt stiff and painful as she slowly sat up. Her hands going to her enlarging belly. A rush of relief to find the pronouncement of baby still there. She had half feared she had miscarried while she was drugged.

"This way." The nurse said as she opened the door to the little room and had Ariadne follow her out.

Ariadne didn't recognize this place. The hallways were white and plain. A line of doors all looking alike, as the nurse hissed at her to remain quite. It was freezing cold here to. The winter tightly grasping wherever she was now.

"Here." the nurse said and guided her to a small water closet at the end of the hall. "You can use this; but be quite. I don't want you waking the staff. That butler with all his questions about you."

'_Miles?_' Ariadne thought as she closed the door to the water closet and ran a tap. '_Could she mean Miles was asking about me?_'

A rush of relief came over her then. She must still be at Blue Rivers. She must be in the servants quarters in the attic.

What should she do? Could she trust Miles to help her? If Miles was nearby, and this was the servant's quarters, then Maura could be close as well. That is if her ladies maid hadn't been dismissed all together.

She had to get away; but to where? If she escaped her nurse, Lady Percy might have her committed to some dreadful asylum. She had already had that doctor drug her against her will, and allowed Mrs. Abbot to torture her. All because she wasn't behaving herself. What might happen to her if she tried to get away, or call for help? They might see it as more reasons to lock her in an institution. They could even take her child away.

Would Arthur even help her once he came home? He had his title now; he might see her as just an inconvenience. Tossing her in a sanatorium for mental hygiene was an efficient way to get rid of a troublesome wife who knew too many of his secrets.

"Ma'am?" The nurse called out. "Are you done in there?"

"Yes." Ariadne replied. "I'll be right out. She flushed the toilet and emerged meekly from the water closet.

"Good. Back to bed with you." The nurse ordered.

Ariadne stood in the dark hallway. Should she run, cry out?

Her heart was beating so fast and the nurse was glaring at her.

"Come on!" The nurse hissed.  
"MILES!" Ariadne started to scream. "MAURA! HELP ME! HELP ME PLEASE!"

She was screaming for help as the nurse gave her an unforgiving slap across the face She crumpled to the floor as BANG, BANG, BANG doors were all thrown open and kerosene lamps lit the plain hallway.  
"Lady Bradford?" Miles gasped and his hands were on her protectively. "Where have you been? Mrs. Abbot said you left."

"Madam?" came Maura's voice as there was shouting from Mrs. Abbot.

The formidable housekeeper looked out of place in her night clothes and robe. She looked almost... normal.  
"Take her back to her room this instant, nurse!" The housekeeper barked.  
"Maura!" Ariadne shouted as she spotted her maid. "Please help me! Mrs. Abbot tired to kill me!"

"Mrs. Abbot?" Miles stared at the housekeeper in disbelief.  
"Her ladyship is suffering from a hysterical malady. She doesn't know what she's saying! The doctor was here earlier and ordered her isolation." Mrs. Abbot barked.

Ariadne couldn't stop crying as Maura was holding her. She was almost child like in the maid's arms.

"John, go and fetch Mr. Eames and bring him here this instant. Peter, tell Cedric to prepare the carriage. We must get Lady Bradford here to the hospital." Miles said.  
"She is already under the care or doctor Miller." Mrs. Abbot bit back scathingly. "Under Lady Percy's orders. Not yours."

"Mary, fetch some blankets for her ladyship." Miles ordered as Maura tried to calm Ariadne. "And you Mrs. Abbot." He turned on the housekeeper with such a fire Ariadne had never seen before. "You will wait in your room until the constable gets here."

"The constable was here!" Mrs. Abbot retorted. "He signed off on her treatment. She was a danger to the child."

"Is that why you told myself and Mr. Eames that she had left? You pretend to be ignorant to her whereabouts as we frantically searched for her?" Miles barked. His kindly manners gone as Mrs. Abbot shrank away.

"I was doing as I was ordered by Lady Percy and doctor Miller." She hissed at him.  
"She tortured me!" Ariadne cried. "She tied me to the bed and tried to drown me with water!"

The staff all gaped at her as the nurse in the white habit moved away from her.

"You did nothing to stop this?" Miles huffed at the nurse. His face as white as a sheet.  
"I was following doctor's orders, sir. He said to do as Mrs. Abbot wished." The nurse said.  
"Ariadne!" came a mans voice from the stair well. The staff all turned to see a figure emerge from downstairs.

Ariadne started to cry in relief at seeing Eames appear.

He was half dressed. A hastily pulled on pair of pants, shoes and his night shirt were all he had on. His hair tasseled. Yet, at that moment, he looked positively heroic.

"Eames!" She cried as a maid put a blanket around her.

"My God!" Eames growled as he picked her up with ease. "Aunt Percy told me you left. I was worried sick. You were just gone."

"Eames, Lady Percy had some doctor drug me!" Ariadne sobbed into his chest as he carried her down the stairs.

"Shh. It's alright now, darling." Eames was saying.  
"Mr. Eames, I've sent one of the footmen to prepare the carriage to take her to the hospital." Miles offered.  
"Maura!" Ariadne called to the skinny maid who was still clinging to her hand and looking ready to cry.  
"Missus! I didn't know you were here!" Maura cried. "I swear it! Lady Percy told me I was dismissed, and I said I don't work for nobody but his lordship."

"Maura, come with me. Please!" Ariadne cried as Eames carried her weak body down the stairs of Blue Rivers. She was suddenly very tired and too dizzy with relief to try and walk.

She didn't need to leave Blue Rivers under her own power. Eames carried her gallantly outside to the carriage. The driver was waiting with the horses. The teams breath puffing out in the cold.

"We're taking Lady Bradford to the hospital!" Eames shouted at the driver.

"Yes, sir!" the driver said as Eames neatly put her inside the carriage. Quickly joining her side as Maura sat opposite them.

Ariadne somehow found herself sitting on Eames' lap as the horses started their quick steps to the village. Her friend wrapping the both of them in her blanket against the cold as she couldn't bare to let him go.

She was safe now. She was rescued. Despite knowing Mr. Eames for such a short time, she knew he would help her. She knew he would never hurt her.  
"Eames, that doctor gave me a shot and then Mrs. Abbot or that nurse tied me to the bed." Ariadne cried as Eames was shushing her like she was a child.

"She poured water over me and tried to drown me!" Ariadne balled as if she truly were an infant.  
"It's alright now." Eames whispered. "You're safe."

"I was so scared!" She cried.  
"You're safe now." Eames whispered in her ear as she clung to him. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again."

She nodded into his chest and he let her cry. His large hands holding her before finally catching hold of her feet. In all the shock and rush to escape, they had forgotten shoes for her.

"You're feet are cold." Eames said with a little smile.

~ The cottage hospital was small and cozy with a few nurses and a country doctor who had seen Ariadne just a month before.

"What's happened?" doctor Richards barked as Eames stormed into the hospital carrying Ariadne.

"I need Lady Bradford to be examined. Make certain her child is alright and look for any evidence of mistreatment. I want the constable here immediately." Eames growled at the kind doctor.

"Yes, sir." The doctor asked as the nurses swarmed around her. Maura staying close.

"Everything is going to be alright now, Missus." Maura whispered as she helped Ariadne undress.


	28. Chapter 28

1.

**Part VI**

**The Secret Keepers**

~ Arthur had sent a telegram to Blue Rivers when he first arrived in London, but in the hectic and busy week he was there, he had heard no word from Ariadne in return. He had sent another telegram to Blue Rivers yesterday, announcing he would be returning early.

His new fears about possible war in Europe made him eager to return to his wife. There was something else lurking in his mind about Ariadne. Some dark fear he couldn't see, or put a name to.

When the train pulled into the village station, it was Mr. Eames, not Ariadne who greeted him.

"Eames?" Arthur questioned as his distant cousin met him with a tired, worried expression. "Eames, what are you doing here?"

"Arthur. Everything's alright now, but you need to come with me. We need to talk." Eames said.

~ "There is bruising along her wrists an ankles. Congruent with her accusations she was tied to the bed." doctor Roberts was telling him.

Arthur found he was breathing hard at the idea that this unthinkable thing, had really happened. Happened while he was away and unable to protect her.

"The duty nurse denies any involvement in pouring water over her face to the point of near drowning, but did nothing to stop it, I'm afraid." the doctor went on.

"Mrs. Abbot?" Arthur said softly. His rage held back by a thin layer of gentlemanly composure. "What's been done with Mrs. Abbot?"

"She has yet to be dismissed from Blue Rivers. We were waiting for your return, sir." The doctor told him.  
"Why hasn't she been arrested?" Arthur growled. His blood felt like sharp knives in his veins.

"Well, sir. Each of the parties involved claimed ignorance on their part. Lady Percy says she was looking out for the child. That your wife was acting strange and the welfare of the unborn was at stake. So, she alerted doctor Miller. Doctor Miller claims he just gave her a mild sedative based on Lady Pery's claim your wife was hysterical and might do harm to herself. The nurses say they were following the doctors orders. Mrs. Abbot says that Lady Bradford was not harmed by the water episode, and if she hadn't been so combative, she wouldn't have had to do it."

"That doesn't answer my question." Arthur said. His voice dangerous. "Why hasn't this woman been arrested for harming my wife?"

"Mrs. Abbot claims she was _treating_ your wife, sir. Trying to persuade her to behave." The doctor said in a low voice.

"_To behave?_ By trying to drown her? By hiding her away in a back room where no one knew where she was? Lying to the rest of the staff and family about where she was?" Arthur felt frantic. "How is this not a crime? I want Lady Percy, Mrs. Abbot and this doctor Miller arrested at once!"

"The officials are reluctant to do anything, sir. They are treating this as a family matter. A domestic dispute." The doctor told them sadly.

"Surely we can arrest doctor Miller. Drugging a pregnant woman?" Eames asked.  
"Please refrain from vulgar language, Mr. Eames." The doctor scolded. "We prefer say delicate state or expectant mother."

Eames rolled his eyes as Arthur looked ready to explode.  
"As for doctor Miller, I wouldn't count on any charges to be considered. He is a respected physician here." the doctor told them.

"My wife has testified to you that she was held against her will and tortured, and you're telling me there is nothing you can do about it?" Arthur shouted.

"I'm very sorry, sir." The doctor said. "You have the power to dismiss Mrs. Abbot with a bad reference, maybe convince the authorities to press charges. However, I should warn you that it may be a waste of time. The constable himself signed off on her isolation. He said she was acting aggressive, and based on Lady Pery's testimony, he had a duty to see the child was safe. My apologies, sir."  
"I want to see my wife." Arthur barked.

~ Ariadne had stayed at the cottage hospital in the village since Eames had carried her in that bitterly cold night.

Maura had rarely left her side. Not even allowing the nurses to tend to her mistress without her there.

Ariadne had been feeling depressed the past few days. Barely leaving her little bed as Maura tried to cheer her up. Eames had even brought her chocolate and her note books.

Nothing seemed to work.

"Ariadne?" Came a voice.

She closed her eyes and tried to hide under the covers.

Arthur had come back home.

"Ariadne, Eames told me what happened. Are you alright?" He asked as he came to her bedside and took the little chair that Maura normally sat on.

"I'll be fine." She whispered as his large hands found hers.

"I'm so sorry this happened." Arthur told her as his hands went to her hair.

She felt ready to cry, but didn't. She felt too dead inside to cry.

"I had no idea this would happen. I should never have left you. We're going to go back to America. Tonight. We don't even have to go back to the house to get our things. We can get new everything and start over." Arthur promised.

"Go back to America?" Ariadne croaked as she looked up at Arthur's worried face.

"Yes. We can go to New York. Or even Philadelphia." Arthur promised.

She remembered her mother's words. How her mother wished she were dead. She had nothing in America.

"No, Arthur. Out home is here. At Blue Rivers." She whispered.

"We're not staying here after what happened." Arthur told her. His face settling into a determined scowl again.  
"I won't leave Phillipa. Think about what would happen to her if we left. We are the rightful owners of the house. We need to stay." She told him.

She couldn't bear to be awake anymore. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come to her.


	29. Chapter 29

2.

~ Eames was waiting in the cozy sitting room of the hospital.  
"How is she?" He asked as Arthur came back out.

"She says she doesn't want to leave Blue Rivers." Arthur told him. "I thought you would have gone back to the house by now."

"I didn't want to leave until I was sure she was alright." Eames said.

"My lawyer, Mr. Cobb is in Town. I'm sending for him. He will be dismissing Mrs. Abbot and personally seeing to it that Lady Percy is removed from that house." Arthur huffed.  
"Can't do that cousin." Eames said casually.

Arthur glared at his sarcastic relative.

Eames shrugged.

"You think you're the first person to try and get Lady Persephone Bradford out of Blue Rivers? She has out lived four owners of that house now. It's a clause in the entail. Her father wanted her provided for. That means she will always have a home in Blue Rivers if she wants it. She will never leave that house and the law is on her side. We can't make her leave." Eames told him.

"What?" Arthur barked. "That woman had my wife drugged and tortured! I can't have her there if Ariadne means to stay."

"Trust me. The late Lord Bradford tried to get her out to. He spent a ton of money on lawyers to try and find a loophole in the law. Nothing." Eames said with a shrug.

Arthur grabbed his coat.

"Well, that was then. I'll have Mr. Cobb go over the entail with a fine toothed comb. If she can bend the law in her favor, so can we." Arthur huffed.  
"Aren't you going to ask if the baby is alright?" Eames asked suddenly. His voice casual.

Arthur stopped cold and looked at his cousin.

"The doctor said she was fine." he said.

Eames nodded.

"He said _Ariadne_ was fine. You never did ask if the _child_ was harmed after all this. It's to be your legacy after all. You're baby. You never asked if it was alright?" Eames asked.

Arthur sighed.

"Is the baby alright, Eames?" Arthur asked. His face tinting red in anger.

"They seem to think so." Eames said after some thought.

He gave Arthur a strange look then that spoke volumes.

~ Ariadne had only taken a brief nap when she woke to the sounds of Eames at her bedside.

The hospital was small, and lacked the need or facilities for a private room. Instead, only a wall of curtains protected her from being seen by the outside world.

"How are you feeling, darling?" Eames asked. His smile warm and comforting as always.

"Better, now that Arthur's back." She whispered.

"Yes, he and I talked. He is going to fire Mrs. Abbot." He told her.  
"Good. I wanted that done the first day." Ariadne sighed.  
"Are you really staying at Blue Rivers?" Eames asked. Getting to the point right away.

"Yes. I don't want to leave Phillipa."

"Your only thoughts are of Phillipa?"

"Not just her, Mr. Eames." Ariadne whispered.

"Good." Eames said looking away from her, and focusing on the patterns of her blanket. "The doctor says you're going to be just fine. We can take you back to Blue Rivers tomorrow if you want."

"Will Lady Percy be there?" Ariadne asked.  
"Yes. But She will stay out of our way. We don't have to see her if we don't want to." Eames told her.

"I had a feeling she would still be there." she sighed.

They said nothing for a long time. The sounds of a ticking grandfather clock seemed loud and inescapable.

"Eames." She said softly. Her gaze focused on the lace of her night gown. "I haven't felt the baby move... since it happened."

Eames looked at her.

"You will. Doctor Roberts said he heard a heart beat. You've just been depressed. Staying in bed too long. We need to get up and go walking. Fresh air will do you all the good in the world." Eames said cheerily.

"I used to feel the baby kicking all the time. What if it's dead?" She asked soberly.  
"It's not." Eames assured her. "I promise it's not."

She shook her head. Tears blinking out of her eyes.  
"Ariadne, I don't want you to stay at Blue Rivers for Phillipa or even me. It has to be what you want. Arthur is rich man. You two can live anywhere." Eames told her.  
"I'm not going back to America." Ariadne said stubbornly. Wiping her eyes dry with her sleeve.

"Because of your mother?" Eames asked.

Ariadne's forehead wrinkled and she she gave him a confused look.

Eames looked embarrassed. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a battered envelope.

"That day, when I came back to the conservatory, you were gone. You had just vanished without a trace. I found this letter in the chair you were seated at. I know I had no right, but I thought you might have gotten some bad news and that was why you left Blue Rivers so suddenly. I was sick with worry." Eames explained.

Ariadne felt her heart race. It was the letter her mother had written to her. The letter she was reading just before doctor Miller arrived. The one that detailed her horrible sins and the lies she and Arthur built.  
"You had no right." She breathed. She wasn't sure what to do. The truth, the horrible truth was written in there. All laid out in her mothers girlish penmanship.

"I know. I was worried and I thought it might have a clue as to where you went off to. I had no idea it was something so personal." Eames explained.

She snatched the letter away from him.  
"This isn't Arthur's child, is it?" Eames asked. "He seems so distant towards it. Not at all how I would act if my wife was expecting."

Ariadne folded the envelope in half, then roughly folded it again. She didn't look at Eames.  
"You were unfaithful to him? I'm not judging." Eames assured him.

"You sound like you're judging." Ariadne retorted. Her checks hotter then fire from the embarrassment.

"I don't see you being unfaithful to Arthur. You look at him like you love him and he seems to adore you. Your mother called him your 'new' husband. How long have you really been married?" Eames asked gently.

Ariadne took a deep breath.  
"You seem to have this all figured out, Mr. Eames." She said at last.

"I think I do. What I don't understand is, why you didn't tell me. Were you worried I would try and take the title away? I already told you, I don't want it. You and Arthur are just what the house and the village needs."

"Mr. Eames, I'm not going to discuss this with you." Ariadne said coldly. Her steel finding her again.

"Very well, your ladyship." Eames said with a raised eyebrow. "I don't want to upset you anymore, so I'll leave."

He stood and took his coat and scarf from off her bed. He was about to leave, when he stopped, turned around and bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'll see you at the house tomorrow." He whispered and left her.

Ariadne realized she had been holding her breath for a long time. The air felt good as she relaxed back in her bed.

'_Eames knows. He knows the truth._' She thought worriedly. She listened to his footsteps leaving. His gentle voice saying goodbye to a nurse, before he was finally gone.

As if sensing the moment was right, her baby gave a hard kick.


	30. Chapter 30

3.

~ Arthur drove the both of them back to Blue Rivers the next day. Ariadne had specifically asked that her husband use the car. It was a taunt to Lady Percy to use the car and have all the village see her in her condition. A rebellion against the gilded cage she was forced to live in.

"I've spoken with Cobb." Arthur was saying as his wife craned her neck to see the outline of Blue Rivers come into view. "He doesn't seem to think there is anything we can do about a criminal case against Lady Percy, or doctor Miller."

"Mrs. Abbot?" Ariadne asked distractedly.

"It seems she has left the county and the constable is unwilling to even consider an arrest, given that you're alright." Arthur said sadly. "I'm sorry, darling. I tried."

"I know you did." Ariadne told him softly. "I don't blame you."

"We also can't find a loop hole that will allow us to get rid of Lady Percy. If you want to leave Blue Rivers, we can. We can buy a house in the village if you like." Arthur said hopefully.  
"And leave Phillipa all alone with that old woman? No." Ariadne said sharply. "It's over now, lets just put it behind us."

Arthur gripped the steering wheel tighter as they rode in silence.

"My mother wrote to me finally." Ariadne said casually.

"Oh? What did she say?"

"She says I've shamed the family. That it would be better if I were dead then for them to know about my bastard child. I got the impression that they were hoping you would be a tyrant who beats me." She laughed. Her hands brushing away tears that escaped her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, well the letter what very explicit, you see. It said a great deal about how the baby is illegitimate and how I am lucky you were willing to marry me. Under normal circumstances, I would have taken the greatest of care to conceal the letter. Burn it, what have you. But doctor Miller interjected before I had a chance to. It seems while looking for me, Mr. Eames found it and read it. He knows the truth about us." She said at last.  
"What?" Arthur asked in disbelief. "You told him?"

"I didn't tell him anything. He put it together on his own." Ariadne said defensively. Her hands smoothing over her belly as a flutter of kicks went going off again.  
"Well, that's the end of it then. He'll go to his lawyers and I'll lose Blue Rivers." Arthur fumed.  
"I thought you said you didn't care about Blue Rivers." Ariadne reminded him sadly.

~ Lady Percy was waiting in the grand hallway when they arrived back at the house. Her posture as rigid as ever. A little smile on her face.  
"My, don't we look well rested." She said as they came in and Miles took their coats.

Ariadne felt her breath catch.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur snarled.

"I live here, young man. Did you forget? By the way, I must remind you, Lady Bradford, you have interviews to attend to today. A new housekeeper needs to be hired at once. Things around here have already suffered a great deal since you have so thoughtlessly and capriciously dismissed Mrs. Abbot. I suppose you didn't give that much thought did you? I told the agency to send any potential housekeeper they had available. None of them will have the experience as Mrs. Abbot, naturally. There are about a dozen of them. They are waiting for you in the dinning hall. You may conduct interviews in the library. I will be retiring to my parlor. Please, do not disturb me with any questions about hiring any staff. You saw fit to dismiss a valued housekeeper, it's your problem to fix it."

Lady Percy looked pleased with her little speech.

Ariadne looked nervously at her husband. Arthur's face looked dangerous. She felt certain he was about to say something rude and unforgivable to Lady Percy. Perhaps that was what the old lady wanted. Ariadne spoke up instead.

"Lady Percy, I will be happy to find a new housekeeper for you. I don't think we will require your assistance in this matter at all. You have proven you don't have very good instincts for hieing decent people. I don't blame you. It's most likely a result of how you were raised. Your parents must have trained you at an early age in the art of poor behavior. It shows in everything about you. I'm sure I can find a housekeeper who doesn't feel the need to torture helpless women." Ariadne said in a catty school girl voice she had witnessed from the snobbiest of her classmates.

"In the meantime, I think it would be best if you retired from _all_ household business. A woman of your years needs as much rest as she can get. I'll even send in one of the maids to help you to bed in an hour or so. I hope that you will go to bed and not resist. I would hate to have to call in a doctor to sedate you. Sometimes the elderly can become so senile, it's not safe for them to be in a big house like this."  
She sighed and looked innocently at Arthur.

"My love, I think the time has come we see about getting our _dear _Aunt Percy a private nurse to attend to her. I would hate to think of her in the almshouse. I've heard such terrible things about those places."

Her husband seemed to catch what she was saying.  
"You're absolutely right, darling. There is the baby to think about and young Phillipa. Our _dear _Aunt Percy could be a danger to them in her state." He said with a smile.  
"How dare you." Lady Percy hissed.  
"We should call that agency and have them send a private nurse for _dear_ Aunt Percy. I worry so." Ariadne added in her best society voice. A thing she had learned so well in finishing school.

"I trust you to handle all the details, darling." Arthur added as they left Lady Percy to her building anger.

~ "I can handle this, Arthur. Really." Ariadne told her husband. "I taught society girls how to do hire staff.

"I know. I just don't like leaving you alone." Arthur sighed. "We also need to speak to Mr. Eames at some point."

~ In the dinning room, sat a group of about fifteen pleasantly plump old women. All of them looking so much alike, in brown coat and little hats, it was almost comedic.  
"Ladies, thank you so much for coming out. I am Lady Bradford. This is my husband Lord Bradford. As you know, we are hiring for a housekeeper. To fill a recent vacancy. This job will require you to live here full time with a half day Saturday and all of Sunday off. You must come here with no attachments. No family will be allowed to come with you. It would also be highly preferable if you have had more then five years experience as a housekeeper as well as a working with children. There is a small child here at Blue Rivers and a new baby will be here in March."

Arthur watched in amazement as Ariadne gave the potential housekeepers a detailed analysis of the job. A few of them looking sad they no longer qualified. His wife was efficient and tactful in her interviewing. She asked intelligent questions of the women. Read references carefully, and dismissed all but five in less then an hour.

Of those five she interviewed each one till, after a few hours, she had her housekeeper.

"Now, Mrs. Williams, I want you to take your lead from Miles. He is a trusted staff member here and the staff all take directions from him." Ariadne told the short, chubby little woman who wore a girlish smile.  
"I can't thank you enough for giving me the chance to work with you here, Lady Bradford." Mrs. Williams said. Her manners were almost like a teenager then a grown woman. "I've always admired Blue Rivers and I know I'll like working for you."

"Just remember that you work for Lord Bradford and myself. You take orders from no one else." Ariadne reminded her.

~ "That was impressive. You have been impressing me all day, madam." Arthur said as they walked around the house. Ariadne hadn't seen Phillipa in days and she was looking for her.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Ariadne asked with a little smile.

Arthur took her hand. He was almost skipping next to her, he was so happy.  
"I must admit, I was prepared to yell and scream at Lady Percy. I wasn't ready for you to cut her off at the knees like that. It was so... elegant." Arthur admitted with a little laugh.

Ariadne blushed.

"I learned it from the girls at finishing school. They make Lady Percy look like a kitten. No one in the world is as cruel as teenage girls are. They're horrible creatures." She told him. "I suppose Phillipa is in the conservatory. That's where we always go." She mused as Arthur was looking over her hungrily.

A certain spark was in his eyes that she recognized.

"I think she can wait." Arthur whispered as he moved his body closer to hers.

She knew right away what he was wanting. His body language was unmistakeable.

"You have to find Mr. Eames, my love. Talk to him." Ariadne said feebly as her husband's nose was in her hair. His strong hands pulling her to him.  
"He can wait to." Arthur said huskily as he stole her away to their room.

**A special shout out to Nina4444. I hope you're feeling better soon! **


	31. Chapter 31

4.

~ I finally managed to pick out a bassinet. " Arthur sighed as he relaxed panting and sweating into their bed. "The hardest job I've ever had to, do by the way. It' will be delivered Thursday. Just in time for the holidays."

"I can't wait to see it." Ariadne giggled as she threw her leg over his waist. She was growing more and more accustomed to the more intimate life she shared with Arthur and finding she was enjoying it more and more.

Her head was resting on his bare chest. She liked to feel him breathing. Their lovemaking had been slow and careful do to her condition. She was sure it hadn't appeased him, but the changes in her body had made the slightest touch resonate so strongly in her these days. Everything around her stirred some emotion or craving in her blood.

"You were very eager today." She mused absentmindedly.

"I guess I've really missed you." Arthur said with a self satisfied sigh.

"That has me a bit worried."  
Arthur chuckled.

"Why? I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked.

"No. It's just...well, ever since I was very young I was told girls aren't supposed to... _enjoy_ these things. Not good girls anyway. I worry I might be turning into a bad woman." She explained as her cheeks flushed hot.

"Are you finding you enjoy these naughty things, madam?" Arthur teased.

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer, sir." She told him covering her body with a sheet a little better. Her modesty winning out in the end.

"Well, I think you did. I think it enjoyed your marital responsibilities a great deal." he told her. That mischievous smile back on his face.

"Arthur!" She hissed. Feeling she might die of shame.

"It's alright for a wife to enjoy her husband." He told her. "Just as it's alright for a husband to enjoy his wife. It's not natural what they teach you in those finishing schools. It's like they want you to turn your husband away on your wedding night."

"I was just... surprised that it could be like this." She admitted.

"I hope it's always like this, darling." He whispered.

His hands tripping lightly over her smooth back. Tickling her skin till her blood started to race hot and needy again.

She bit her lip before talking a deep breath.

"I don't think Eames will tell anyone about the letter. He seemed more concerned about me then anything." Ariadne said lazily. The comforts of being with Arthur again making her feel more careless.

"We can't take that chance. Does he still have the letter?"  
"No, he gave it back to me; I burned it." Ariadne told him.

She looked up at him. Arthur seemed to relax at that news.

"That's good. We can deny it at the very least. All other evidence is on our side." he told her.

"I really don't see him saying anything." Ariadne told him.

"Why not?"

"He could have shown the letter to Lady Percy and he didn't. He didn't have to rescue me from Mrs. Abbot like he did. If he really cared about the entail and the title, he would have gone to a lawyer with the letter and not me." she told him.  
"You and Mr. Eames... the two of you are close." Arthur said. It wasn't a question.  
"We're friends. We talk a lot about books and things. You know, he didn't have to rescue me from Mrs. Abbot. It would have been an easy matter for him to side with Lady Percy." She told her husband. Her face looking away from him.

"You told me once, he was the only one who was happy about the baby." Arthur said. His long fingers playing in her hair as she rested her head on his chest again.

"Yes."  
"Ariadne, I am happy about the baby. I truly am. I just don't know how to express it. It doesn't feel real to me yet." He told her.

"I know." She whispered sadly.

"Are we still thinking of the name Arthur, if it's a boy?" He asked hopefully.

She was silent and his fingers laced in and out of her hair. She had her own ideas about names at the moment.

"You never want to touch my belly when we're... together." She said delicately. Her breeding and schooling not allowing her to use a more blunt vocabulary.

"I don't?" He asked.  
"No. I tried to get you to before and you just..." She felt her cheeks grow hot again at the memory of their bodies together.

"Well, we can work on that tonight." He told her.

"Baby has been kicking a lot. I was worried after what happened with Mrs. Abbot, but it's been kicking." She said.

As if listening in on their conversation, the life inside her seemed to take off in a flurry of movements.

She pressed her hand to her rounded skin and smiled.

"Do you want to feel?" She asked.

Arthur looked doubtful and even trepidations.

"It's okay." She assured him.

She guided his palm to her belly. Her husband reluctant to press his hand there. As soon as his flesh made contact with hers, the movement stopped.

"Just give him a second. He might start going again." She said expectantly.

Arthur kept his hand to her skin and waited with her. His face looking uncomfortable and bored.

"We should get dressed, madam." he said at last. "Go find Phillipa and speak to Mr. Eames."

He shifted out of bed and marched naked to the dressing wardrobe.

Ariadne had to look away at seeing a man totally nude. She doubted she would ever grow accustomed to it.

She wondered if Arthur would ever grow accustomed to her being a mother.


	32. Chapter 32

4.

~ Ariadne found Eames watching the snowfall from his spot in the conservatory. Phillipa was happily doing her water colors as the two of them seemed to be waiting for her.

She looked to Arthur then. Her husband wearing an dark scowl.

Before she could stop him, Arthur cleared his throat and Phillipa glanced up.  
"Ariadne!" The little girl cried out as she ran to her.

Ariadne embraced the child happily as Eames stood and looked surprised to find Arthur was with her.

"I missed you! Aunt Percy said you had gone. That you weren't coming back." Phillipa cried  
"Lady Percy was misinformed." Ariadne said softly. Her hands smoothing out Phillipa's hair.  
"Good to see you back." Eames said after an awkward few seconds.

"Phillipa, why don't you go to my room and get one the bunny books? I'll read one to you." Ariadne told the little girl who grinned, and then scampered out of the conservatory.

"Mr. Eames, I think we need to talk." Arthur said curtly. Eames shrugged and sat back down again.

Arthur's body gracefully took a seat across from him. Ariadne, her body becoming less agreeable to simple tasks, had to take her time about sitting.

"It seems there has been some confusion about a letter." Arthur told his cousin.  
"No confusion." Eames retorted. "I found an open letter on the day Ariadne was drugged and hidden. I read it. I thought it might contain information bout what had happened to her."

He turned to Ariadne.

"Again, I'm sorry."

He turned back to Arthur.

"It was quite telling. Mainly how this child is illegitimate, the result of some kind of union with a married man. How you are her 'new' husband. I understood it perfectly well." Eames finished.  
"What you read was taken out of context." Arthur countered.

"Well, let me put it into context. Ariadne, a good girl from a good family, gets into trouble. I'm not judging that. Lots of girls lose their way sometimes. Her family wants nothing to do with her. She is under the very real possibility of being destitute. Now you, because of the entail requirements, you need a wife. You need one from a good good family. One with breeding and education. Who can come into Blue Rivers and make you look good. It's the perfect match. You both have something the other needs. You both make each other... respectable. There's no confusion." Eames finished.

Ariadne knew she should let Arthur handle this. He was a businessman. He knew how to negotiate. But she couldn't help it. She was no nervous, she had to ask:

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

Eames looked at her.  
"No, darling. I'm not." He said simply. "Tell me how you found each other. When I asked how you met, your stories didn't exactly pair up."

Ariadne looked at Arthur and they both said nothing.

"Lawyers? That Mr. Cobb became involved?" Eames offered.

"Yes." Arthur said at last.

"How long did you know each other before you were married?" Eames asked.

"A few hours." Ariadne said weakly.

Eames let out a sigh and refused to look at her.

"So, this is a marriage of convenience? I honestly believed you loved each other." He laughed darkly.  
"We care very much for one another." Arthur interjected.  
"Well that's wonderful." Eames said sarcastically.

The three of them sat in silence for a long time.

"No, I won't say a thing about it to anyone. I've told you, I don't want the entail. I think the two of you are just what this house needs. What the village needs to." Eames said at last.

"Thank you, Eames." Arthur sighed.  
"I'm not doing it for you." Eames said curtly. His eyes flicking to Ariadne.

Arthur was about to make a retort when Phillipa returned to them.

"Read me this one!" She called to Ariadne as she tried to climb into her lap. Ariadne's new body shape preventing the little girl from sitting comfortably.

Ariadne immediately recognized the colorful and gory story book she had bought in London last month.

"Phillipa, where did you find this?" Ariadne tried to laugh as Eames and Arthur looked at the volume questioningly.  
"Your trunk." Phillipa told her.

"You were supposed to bring me the bunny book. Nothing else." Ariadne scolded as she took the offensive book away.

"Let me see that." Eames said lightly taking the edition from her as Arthur glared at his cousin.

"Sweeney Todd huh?" Eames said with a smile. "Excellent choice. Perhaps you could read her this instead."

He passed her a large, glossy covered magazine with the new Art Deco style letters announcing strange tales were inside.

Ariadne looked at the cover of the magazine. It was richly illustrated and detailed with a sad looking man. He was an automaton, his body made of metal. A machine that was rusting and bent. His rivets looking like rusty buttons on his chest. He looked sad as he huddled in a scrap heap of broken washers and other rusted parts.  
"What's that?" Arthur asked.

"It's my story." Ariadne breathed out. Her fingers brushing across her name. "The Metal Men, by Ariadne Bradford".

"I hope you don't mind. I used your real name. I hate all the initials of some of these writers. Like they're ashamed of their work." Eames said with a shrug.  
"You've been published?" Arthur asked. His brow creasing in a scowl again.  
"It's my story. The one I was working on." She told him. "Eames helped me finish it and sent it to his publisher."

"It's just a small magazine." Eames said with a contented smile.

"Read it." Phillipa cried eagerly.

Ariadne turned the pages. The thrill of seeing her words in print made her blood quicken. If she hadn't been so heavily pregnant, she could have jumped up and started dancing.

"In a future time, in a distance place, all of mankind will have their labors accomplished by machines. There are machines of all shapes and sizes. Some look like little boxes, and big boxes. Some burrow under ground and some fly through the air. Others, look and walk upright just like the humans who built them.

These robotic men were built to serve their masters, just like all machines. They wash the clothes and cook the dinners. They even build the houses where humans live comfortably. Humanity quickly became indolent and complacent thanks to the robotic men serving their every need.

The metal men never questioned their place in this service. They worked until they broke or became outdated. They were then fixed or replaced all together.

Never a thought was given to the metal men. They were tools, like a hammer or a pencil. They had no feelings like humans do.

Until one day, a curious thing happened. One of the metal men, began to question things around him. He started to wonder why some machines were different. Why some looked like little boxes, and big boxes. Why some burrowed under ground and and some flew through the air. He wondered why he was built to look like humans, but wasn't the same as humans."


	33. Chapter 33

1.

**Part VII**

**Discontent **

~ "Your story." Arthur said that night as they were getting ready for bed. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting published?"

"I thought you might be upset. It's not fitting for a lady to have a career." Ariadne told him.

He chuckled.

"I hardly think it's a career." He said.

"I disagree. Eames' publisher wants more stories." Ariadne told him.

Arthur looked annoyed.

"So this is what you and Mr. Eames have been working on?" He asked.

"Yes. While you were wiring the house for electricity."

"I see." Arthur said solemnly.

He and his wife were in their private rooms. A good fire was going in the hearth and the space took on a lavish and comfortable feel.

Arthur felt some kind of darkness had come over the both of them after finding his wife had written a story and been published; all without telling him.  
"Ariadne, I think it would be best if you didn't attempt to publish anymore of your stories." Arthur told her.

"What? Why?" Ariadne barked. She looked over the magazine with her story in it. It had been the premier story. The editors had even hired an artist to give her metal men a face for the cover.

"Because your name is on it and it could be viewed as... political." Arthur told her delicately.

"No." Ariadne snapped. She held the magazine close to her, fearful he might snatch it away. "I worked really hard on that story and it's an honor to have it published."

"Ariadne, do you understand what is happening in the world right now? Socialism? Communism? Marxism? People read this and they will assume it is your political view." He argued.

"It's just a story." Ariadne retorted angrily.

"Ariadne, I won't have it. I can't stop you from writing, or even getting published, but not under your own name, and certainly not this kind of subject matter. I won't have the attention brought to me. I won't allow people to say my wife wants to destroy the class system. Destroy capitalism. What you wrote, goes against everything I believe in." Arthur told her.

"Oh, robotic metal men go against everything you believe in?" Ariadne laughed.

"That story is about how the upper class keeps the lower class down. It's an invitation to do away with a capitalist system of government. I've worked my whole life to be wealthy. I deserve it because I've earned it. By your reason, I should give all that away to those who don't work as hard and who didn't earn it."

"Arthur, I was in London. I saw the poverty there. You can't tell me that it's just. We can't just ignore the problem." Ariadne argued.

"I agree. But I pulled myself up out of poverty thanks to capitalism." Arthur said.

"You pulled yourself up because your parents worked two jobs each. You're rich because you have men and children in your factories who work for too little. They work in dangerous conditions for a wage they can't live on. They can't afford to send their children to school, and you make it all the easier to employ their children to help them make ends meet. Thus you make it easier to keep them in poverty!" Ariadne spat.

She didn't know where that argument had come from. But the moment it was out of her mouth, she was glad she had said it. Arthur's face looked like she had stabbed him in the heart.

"Madam, you will not be writing any more stories to fulfill any socialist agenda. I will speak to Mr. Eames and make certain he understands this." Arthur said coolly.  
"Get out! How dare you try to control what I do!" She cried.

"I'm your husband!" Arthur growled.

"You treat me like I'm a child, or a worker on you floor. What happened to being so impressed with me? If I decide to publish again, what will you do?" She hissed.

He could tell she was angry now.  
"I think I'll sleep in the other room tonight. You are expecting, and won't have you upset. You've have a very stressful few days as it is." Arthur said coldly as he prepared to leave her.

"Don't you leave!" Ariadne screamed. "You won't tell me what to do! I promise you won't!"

Tears were brimming in her eyes as she looked fit to burst from anger.  
"Good night, madam." Arthur said as he left his wife.

"I hate you! Never come back in this bedroom again!" She screamed as a porcelain figurine of a flower girl went sailing through the air. Missing him by a few inches.  
"Get out!" She was screaming as he abandoned her for the solitude of his private bedroom.


	34. Chapter 34

2.

~ In a house such as Blue Rivers, it was easy to avoid someone. Indeed, a full week had slipped away since Arthur had his discussion with Ariadne about her story. He had meant to say something to Mr. Eames the morning after, but the gentleman had taken himself away without warning and would be back at his own discretion. Mr. Cobb and Yuseff had pressing matters in the village that Arthur had to attend to. As a result, he saw little of his wife except at dinner; where they ate in a silence so thick, the little girl looked at each of them with wide, frightened eyes.

Lady Percy would take all her meals alone in her parlor room and, after dinner, Ariadne would take Phillipa to the nursery and then retire to her own suite. Arthur would stay up later and later in the library each night. Lost in a world of business that he found comforting.

His work was the best medicine for whatever ailed him. He trusted, without reserve, that if he gave Ariadne some time and space, she would forget that she was angry at him.

~ His wife, did not share this sentiment.

It was almost Christmas when Ariadne was finally able to supervise a large tree to be put in the front parlor.

"This family has never practiced the garish trend of a tree in the house. It was introduced by Queen Victoria you know, and suddenly everyone jumped on the band wagon." Lady Percy sniped at her as Ariadne, Phillipa and a few maids were putting up popcorn on strings around the tree.

For whatever reason, perhaps nothing more then the holiday season, Ariadne was finding it harder to be angry at Lady Percy. She as a harsh, self absorbed old woman, that was true. But she was an old woman. A old woman who clearly had many regrets to make her so bitter towards everyone.

They watched Phillipa and the two maids giggle and laugh as they decorated the tree with handmade ornaments.  
"We always had a tree when I was little, Lady Percy." Ariadne said sadly. "It's something from home I miss." She added.

"Well, I suppose we shall see all kinds of American traditions in this house now." Lady Percy told her stiffly.

"What were some of your holiday traditions?" Ariadne asked suddenly. It occurred to her that Lady Percy, a woman of so many advanced years, and had lived in a world that had changed greatly.

"Oh." Lady Percy said. Her brow furrowing down like Arthur's would sometimes. "Well, back then of course, we spent Christmas day in church. Religion was the main reason for the holidays. Not like now you see. But the night before, we attended dances and dinners. There was always some lively party where all the young people could meet."

A little smile played out over Lady Percy's face. As if she were lost in her memories.  
"I was about five, and my papa gave me the most beautiful dolly in the world. I carried her with me everywhere." The old lady said at last.  
"I had a doll like that when I was little." Ariadne offered. "Perhaps we should get Phillipa a nice doll."

The pair of them looked at the little girl draping a string of popcorn carefully over the branches of the tree.

Lady Percy sniffed.

"That child was spoiled by her father. Trust me when I tell you, she has plenty of dolls to entrain her. So much in fact, I am sure she values none of them." the older woman said.

"Do you still have your doll, Lady Percy?" Ariadne asked.

"Oh." Lady Percy looked distracted. "No. I put childish things away. Just as I was supposed to."

"I left my doll back in America." Ariadne said sadly.

"Well, you shall have your baby soon." Lady Percy offered as a cold solace. "You won't need a doll."

Ariadne gave a small laugh.  
"I suppose so." She agreed. "Why is that you never married? Never had children?"

"I had little desire to." Lady Percy told her. "I was blessed with good fortune and a woman of good fortune does not need a husband. I wanted to be my own person. If I was married, I would belong to my husband. I only had to wait for my father to die to be on my own you see. He did it quickly enough. I was barely twenty when he passed."

"I'm sorry." Ariadne offered.  
"I'm not." Lady Percy said. "I've told that American husband of yours that I've taken care of Blue Rivers since I was a teenager. It hasn't been easy, the modern world and what not. Someone had to do it. My father and brothers were never up for the task. No one wants to get their hands dirty."

"Would you like to join us on a shopping expedition, Lady Percy? I was going to go into the village later today. Get some candy and things for the staff." Ariadne offered.

"No thank you, dear." Lady Percy said stiffly and walked away. Closing her parlor door behind her.

~ Eames returned just as inexplicably as he had left. As his nature, he just appeared back at Blue Rivers with no explanation to his whereabouts.

It was a few days before Christmas when Arthur noticed his cousin was in the library, as though he hadn't left at all. A heavy snow had buried the house. Leaving it's occupants warmly tucked in for the next few days.  
"Mr. Eames. Looking for something?" Arthur asked coldly as he watched Eames peruse some books.

"Arthur." Eames said with a mocking tone. "Good to see you dear cousin. Doing some research. Nothing to alarm yourself with."  
"I've been looking for you for over a week now. Where have you been?" Arthur asked curtly.

"In London Town." Eames told him. He gave Arthur a little bow. "I was speaking with my editor and working on an assignment."

"That's exactly the kind of thing I need to talk to you about." Arthur said. "I'm going to tell you now, don't fill my wife's head up with anymore of your delusions of publications. I didn't appreciate that surprise you gave me last week."

"What ever do you mean cousin?" Eames asked with a little smile.

"I mean you encouraging her to write a story that could have negative consequences for us. That story had a definite political skew to it." Arthur snapped.  
"It was a fictitious story in a small publication." Eames said casually. "Hardly a manifesto in The Observer."  
"I don't care." Arthur told him. "That kind of subject matter could give others the wrong idea about us." Arthur told him.  
"What subject matter? Robots?" Eames teased.  
"Eames, you know very well what I'm talking about. That story was akin to revolutionary propaganda." Arthur said calmly.

"Well, maybe there should be a revolution. There is a widening gap between the haves and the have nots." Eames said.

"Says the man with the haves."

"What? You think I have money? Cousin, my bit of pen scratching pays little. I live off the charity of my family. A thing which I can tell is running thin. In time of great economic disparity, there is always revolution. Go and visit some of the slums sometimes. Go and see the London Hospital. See needy people turned away because the hospital lacks the staff or means to care for them. See how many babies are born dead because the mother didn't get enough nutrition while pregnant. Go see children who's teeth have rotten out do to lack of proper diet. How many children can hardly read because they have to work selling apples in the streets to live. See how many of the poor are left to die or worse." Eames said. A fierce look in his normally happy eyes.

"Eames, don't make yourself out to be the voice of suffering." Arthur snapped. "I grew up poor."  
Eames snorted a laugh.

"You grew up in a country with free education and a bill of rights that meant you were allowed to earn any living you were able. Is it so much to ask for that for others?" Eames retorted.  
"Are you a socialist?" Arthur asked.  
"Yes." Eames nodded.  
"I won't have have you filling up my wife's head with your stories of the value of a poorly planned economic structure. Socialism is doomed to failure." Arthur told him.  
"_Socialism_ is public schools, roads, libraries and fire fighters. You want those things privatized so only the wealthy have access to them? Socialism is the belief that everyone should have basic rights to education, health and opportunity. Not just the wealthy. If you're born poor, you are destined to stay poor. If you are born rich, you are destined to stay rich." Eames said rationally.

Arthur was shaking his head.  
"You can spout your Marxist rhetoric all you want. But you will not do it here." Arthur said calmly. "You will not encourage my wife to take part in it."

"Ariadne is a grown woman. She isn't a child and she isn't a slave. It's her right to read and understand the world around her." Eames said. His voice taunting him.  
"Not the way you skew things, Mr. Eames." Arthur hissed. "I know you..." He felt his pulse race. This was about more then Eames' political views. "I know how you feel about her. I can see there is something between the two of you. I'm grateful that you were there for her when she needed you. But I won't have you making advances to my wife. I think it's best you move out of Blue Rivers, before the baby is born."

"I don't think so, cousin." Eames said.  
Arthur looked livid.

"See, I still know your little secret about your sham of a marriage. It would be a shame of word got out. You've invested quite a lot of your own money and efforts in this estate." Eames told him. "So, I don't think I'll be going anywhere."


	35. Chapter 35

3.

~ Christmas had arrived with little flare at Blue Rivers. Aside from the garish tree, everything was very simple.

Presents were dolled out on Christmas morning. Phillipa was delighted with the doll house Arthur had gotten her in while in London.

Ariadne had cried over the beautiful bassinet her husband presented to her. It was exactly what she had wanted for the baby.  
"Hardest job he ever had. Picking that out." Cobb teased as he enjoyed Christmas dinner with the family.

"Well, it's perfect. Thank you, Arthur." Ariadne told him.

In front of company, their fight had to be put aside.

Cobb had no family in the village and Arthur was grateful his most trusted friend was available to lean on.

Lady Percy didn't join them for dinner. Ariadne left a small, elegantly wrapped gift on the dinner tray the housekeeper took in for her.

~ "I have no idea what to do about Eames." Arthur said sadly as he and Cobb sat in the library after dinner.

"He has no proof." Cobb assured him. "You have documents showing you and Ariadne have been married over a year now."

"He can also round up witnesses that will attest that Ariadne and I were not married before September of this year." Arthur argued.

"If he did that, it would hurt Ariadne more then you. From what you've told me, he wouldn't want to hurt her." Cobb said patiently.

"Cobb, I think he means to take my wife away. They're the best of friends." Arthur said sadly. "It's like she has been leading this whole other life with Eames that I knew nothing about till that stupid story came out."

"I've read her story, it's not stupid. In face I think another magazine has picked it up. The one in America." Cobb said.

Arthur let out a loud sigh.

"See? This is just what I didn't want." He grumbled. "It's a communist story and my name is attached to it."

"I don't think so." Cobb told his friend. "I think you're over reacting."

"Fine, but what do we do about Mr. Eames?" Arthur asked.

~ "Oh it's too horrible." Ariadne sighed as she and Eames sat by a cheery fire.

Ariadne was trying her best to knit a pair of baby booties. Her knitting skills were not very developed and the heel kept coming out wrong. Eames was stretched out in a overstuffed chair beside her.

"Yes, the hospital was over run with the sick and injured. It was a charity hospital, and so underfunded that they couldn't take in very many. A man died in the waiting room while I was touring the place." Eames explained.

"The children?" Ariadne asked. Her eyes darting to Phillipa who was playing with the massive, and no doubt expensive, doll house Arthur had gotten her.  
"I think we should be grateful our Phillipa has everything she needs." Eames said sadly. He turned his happy eyes to Ariadne. "Her and the expectant one." He teased nodding to her belly.

Ariadne sighed and looked angry.  
"What is it?" Eames asked.

"Why won't you tell me about the conditions of the children?" She asked.

"It's nothing you would want to hear, darling." Eames said softly.  
"You went to tour the poorest neighborhoods and hospitals for an article you are writing. Please, tell me everything." She asked.

Eames sighed and looked at the fire.

"The flats are filthy and too small. No indoor plumbing or proper sanitation. That's why the typhoid and lice is so out of control; not to mention the rats. The children lack good nutrition. The men drink too much. Most likely to escape from their problems. The children are pulled out of school at a young age and have to go to work." Eames explained.

"The babies?" Ariadne asked softly.

Eames was silent for a long time.

"A lot of the children born to the poor are born dead." Eames said sadly. "The doctors all told me it could easily be prevented with proper nutrition and care."

"So what can we do?" Ariadne asked.  
"We can't rely on charity to care for the less fortunate. It will never be enough. There needs to be a change from the top level of government. Unfortunately, it's not in the interest of the government to make that change. They profit from keeping the poor right where they are. They don't want to lose their underpaid and over worked maids and cooks now do they? They don't want the children of the poor to go to school because it's in their interest to have them not better themselves. They are richer, because there are so many poor people who are willing to work for next to nothing." Eames told her.

Ariadne looked horrified.  
"Let's talk of more pleasant things." Eames said. "How is the little one?" He asked nodding to her rounded shape.

"Kicking. I saw the doctor right before the snow set in. He says he or she is healthy." Ariadne said sadly.

"Well that's wonderful. I got you a present. I didn't want to give it to you in front of Arthur." Eames said shyly handing her a package wrapped in simple brown paper. "It's not much, but its a new fashionable thing to do in society now." he explained.

Ariadne opened the paper to reveal a book with a cherub like baby printed on the cover in beautiful water colors.

"What's it about?" Ariadne asked.  
Eames chuckled.

"It's about your baby. When it's born, you fill in all the blank pages there. You load it up with how it's growing and eating. All the things you'll no doubt find fascinating and want to remember." Eames told her.

Ariadne looked over the pages. They were mostly blank. All of the pages had fat happy babies laughing. There were questions about age and weight and when the child got his first hair cut.  
"Eames." Ariadne whispered. "It's lovely."

"I got it in London. Do you like it?"

"I love it. But I don't have a camera for all the pictures it says to put in here." She laughed.  
"Not a problem." Eames said with a shifty smile.

He produced out of nowhere a small brownie camera and clicked her picture without her looking up from the book.  
"Eames!" Ariadne said with a smile as she hadn't had time to pose for the candid shot and she no doubt looked horrid.

Her friend was laughing.  
"We can take lots of pictures of you and the little one now." Eames explained. "All he or she has to do is get here."

As she looked over the fat babies in the book, she thought of babies born cold and dead. Of how her heart would break if that happened to her.

"Ariadne, don't cry." Eames scolded gently as she fought back tears at the idea of losing her own baby.  
"I'm sorry." Ariadne said started weep.  
"What's going on?" Came an deep, irritated voice.

Ariadne looked up to see Arthur storming in. His gate like a military man as he cast Eames an angry look.  
"Ariadne, what's wrong?" He asked soothingly; taking her hand.  
"Nothing. I'm fine." She blubbered. "Eames and I were just talking about his visit to the London Hospital."

"I told you-" Arthur started.  
"Yes, yes, all candy and rainbows around her, I know." Eames said sarcastically.

"It's not his fault, Arthur. I asked." Ariadne told him. She wiped her tears away and tried to think of happier things.

~ "I really love the bassinet. Thank you." She told Arthur as he walked her to her room. The couple was still sleeping apart. It had been a hectic day of meals and presents, but a very happy first Christmas together.

"I hope that Mr. Eames didn't upset you too much." Arthur told her.

"He didn't." Ariadne said quickly. "I just hate thinking of those poor children. It must have been horrible to see all of that."  
"Eames has the ability to stir a lot of emotions in people. Or so it would seem." Arthur said coldly.

She said nothing as they arrived at her room.

"Arthur, I didn't know he was going to publish my work. I would have said something to you about it if I did. I never dreamed it would actually see print." She him.

"I know. If you want to keep writing. I won't stop you." He whispered. "I want you to be happy."

He looked at his shoes and they said nothing.

"Arthur, I don't want to fight anymore." She said suddenly.

"I don't either. We got married so quickly. We still barely know each other." He admitted.

"Maybe we're just not compatible." She whispered.

"Do you want to be with Eames?" He asked. "Because he wants you."

"Arthur, there isn't anything going on between myself and Mr. Eames." She told him.  
"Not because he hasn't tried." He grumbled.

She said nothing. She wasn't so blind that she couldn't see how Mr. Eames felt about her.

"You know I care for you." He said at last. "Do you think we could love each other?"

She wanted to tell him she wasn't sure. She had already given her heart away once. Only to be betrayed and cast out. It was the worst heartache she could fathom.

"Do you still love him?" Arthur asked.

"What?"

"The baby's father. You still love him, don't you?"

"Of course not." Ariadne snapped.  
"I'm a fool. I'll never measure up to your dreams of him." Arthur said coldly.

"Arthur. Jeffery betrayed me. He used me and then abandoned me. Why would I still love him?"

"Because you just do." Arthur growled. He stalked away from her to his own room. Leaving her alone for the night.


	36. Chapter 36

4.

~ Arthur waited impatiently for sleep. His thoughts too troubled to fall into the black and peaceful abyss of dreams and forgetting. He instantly regretted accusing Ariadne of still being in love with a man who had taken her innocence; then carelessly abandoned her. Still, as her child grew, so did the nagging reminder of the man who came before him.

Why did he have to be so jealous all the time? He found he was even becoming jealous of the time his wife spent with Phillipa and not him. His resentment towards her relationship with Eames, no matter how platonic, was like a thorn in his side. One that was becoming infected.

Was it wrong to want this woman all to himself? She was too willful to be controlled like he wanted. Yet, in a way, that made her all the more tantalizing to him.

He sighed and tried to settle back into his empty bed. His room was cozy with a cheery fire giving a comforting light.

As a boy, he remembered many cold nights with just a warm fire and his parents. So many Christmas days without presents or good food. Today, he had all of those things. He had also been surrounded by his family; a beautiful wife and a child. It had been the best Christmas he had ever had. Why was he so miserable now?

He was so lost in thought, he almost didn't hear the knock on his door.

"Come in." he called out to the darkness.

He wasn't surprised to see the petite form of his bride slip into the shadowy room.

"It's cold in the hallway." She whispered as she stole to his bedside.

He nodded as he moved over to make room for her.  
"I couldn't sleep." She told him as he covered her in his warm bedding. Her feet and toes already cold. He could smell the soap on her hair, the faint scent of rose water as she snuggled closer to him.

"I couldn't sleep either." Arthur told her as they watched the fire dance and crackle.

"I'm not in love with Jeffery." Ariadne told him finally. "Not anymore."

"But you don't love me." Arthur prompted.

She gave out a sigh.

"Arthur, I really believed Jeffery loved me. I gave myself to him; I wanted to marry him. I had this fantasy that we would be together. When I found out about the baby, I thought it would be alright. I thought we would elope and go West. He just looked at me; like getting pregnant was something horrible I did to _him_. Then, suddenly he tells me about his wife and kids. How I'm going to ruin him. I had no idea he was even married."

She took a deep breath.

"I had to tell my mother. I had no choice in the matter. She wanted to take me to a doctor who would... who would 'take care' of it. I wasn't sure what they were going to do until we got to the office. Then I wouldn't let him. Mother screamed at me that I was a whore and that I wasn't welcomed in her house anymore. Then she told my father."

She seemed to be holding back tears.

"I went to stay at a woman's lodging house till my situation became known to my employer. Jeffery wasn't even implicated in it. He had stopped talking to me altogether. He kept his job, but I was fired. I soon ran out of money to stay at the boarding house. I had no idea what I would do next; when my friend told me about Mr. Cobb; about your situation."

She pulled herself free of his arms. Her long dark hair so beautifully framing her face. Her large eyes so fearful and doll like, he wondered how anyone could abandon this creature.

"Jeffery, wounded me deeper then I ever thought possible. If he had stood by my side, been the kind of man you are, then I would love him till the day that I died. But he turned his back on me. Pretend that our child was my problem alone. He would have let us starve in the streets before he helped me. I can't be in love with a man like that."

She looked on the verge of tears.

"But I can't fall in love with someone as recklessly as I did before Jeffery. My trust, my hopes for love have been stunted. I know that you're nothing like him. But if I don't love you, you can't hurt me." She told him. "And if you don't love me, you can't be hurt either."

"Well, I do love you." He said boldly.

Never, never in his life had he told a woman he loved her. But at that moment, when the words slipped out of his lips, he knew it was true. He_ did_ love her. He loved her infuriating need to go against his will whenever riled. He loved her fairy like beauty, her steel that seemed to be stronger then his own. It was all these qualities he loved in her.

"I love you. And I want to be a father to your child. I want this baby to be mine." he said taking a deep breath and charging fearlessly ahead.

Here was his heart. His blood, as red as any, and he was giving to her. He could give her a home and possessions so easily. He could even give her physical pleasures, but he wanted to give her his heart; and pray she wouldn't reject it.

"Arthur. I know you would never abandon me the way Jeffery did, you're a better man then he was... but I can't just-" She started to say.

He cut her protesting lips off with his kiss. He couldn't bare not to touch her anymore. His hands were caressing her hair and face as she seemed to melt into his arms. Her body falling into his will as she allowed him to shed her of her night dress.

Her breasts were suddenly more beautiful then ever before. Rounded and larger from her condition.

"Do you really want to be my child's father?" She panted as she broke away from his kiss.  
"_Our_ child. I want to be _our_ child's father." He growled into her neck as she surrendered her body to him. Another fact that, once out of his mouth, he would not take back.

"Arthur." She mewed up at him and his hands caressed her full body. "Here." She whispered into his kiss and she pulled his hands onto her stomach. Her figure looking ripe and healthy in the firelight as he felt his own need spark angrily with lust for her.

To his great shock, he felt what could only be a kick.

He pulled away from her kiss in surprise. Had she done that? Did she have some kind of control over the baby? Some ability to make it move when she wanted?

He looked at her belly; not too large yet with their child. A fascinated sort of curiosity took hold of him as he wondered who was in there.


	37. Chapter 37

**Part VIII**

** The Darkness and the Light**

1.

_ March 1913_

_ Blue Rivers. _

~ Ariadne woke to the sounds of the scullery maid cleaning out the fire place and lighting a small pile of kindling and wood. February had released some of it's icy hold on the house and grounds, and the room wasn't as cold these days. The family had practically been entombed at Blue Rivers for the entire winter. Mr. Cobb even staying for a month after Christmas.

It had been a pleasant winter. She had worked on her stories with Eames while he wrote his article about poverty in the lower classes.

Work on the telephone hub was stalled due to the weather, but things would progress more quickly now that the snow would melt.

She pretended to be asleep as the maid built the fire and silently left them. Arthur remained snoring contently with his large hand draped over her belly. A growing habit of his these days.

He had been so pleased to feel the child inside finally kick for him. His face becoming that of a young man who was discovering something truly interesting and that he might love.

She debated if it was worth it to leave her cozy bed and visit the toilet or try and go back to sleep again when she felt a sharp twinge in her back.

'_Not again._' She sighed as she rolled her big body out of bed.

This had been happening for a month now. A midwife had come in because Arthur was terrified she had gone into premature labor.

The grandmotherly woman had told them both that it was only false labor. To wait to call her when the contractions got longer, stronger and occurred more quickly.

Ariadne had stared at the old woman in helpless shock. The false labor had hurt, did she mean to say it would get worse?

Nothing scared Ariadne more then giving birth these days. Her belly was so inescapably large, that she wasn't sure how the baby would be able to come out.

"Not to worry, if we have to cut you, it won't me much." The midwife had assured her.

Ariadne winced as another pain hit her on the way to the bathroom. She decided to take a bath. It had helped with some of the pain before and would stop the false labor again.

She was shedding her night dress when a new kind of pain tore through her. She had to almost double over from it. Her breathing stopping as it was so intense, she had forgotten to even breath.

She took great, thankful, gulps of air and the pain eased off.

It was when she took her undergarments off, that she noticed the blood.

~ "Arthur!" Ariadne voice was panicked as shook him out of sleep. He had been sleeping so well. Their bed was so comfortable and he had been deeply in dreams.  
"Arthur, it's time. I need the midwife." She was telling him.

"What?" Her husband looked up at her bleary eyed. "Are you sure this time?" He asked.

"Go send the carriage for her." Ariadne said looking scared.

"It might just be that false labor thing again." Arthur told her. He wanted to go back to sleep.

Her eyes were big as she shook her head.

"No, it's not. Arthur, please send the driver to go and get her." She begged.

He grumbled as he stepped into his pants and shoes.

Her face suddenly wincing and she clutched her side. Obviously in pain.

"Are you alright?" he asked stupidly.

"Just go and get the midwife!" She barked at him.

~ Arthur had the driver fetch the local midwife from the village. She was an aged woman who delivered all of the babies, including Phillipa. She supposedly had a good record of delivering healthy babies and healthy mothers.

"Naturally, it depends of the health of the mother. Why the former Lady Bradford died during child birth. But you're young and healthy, not a reason at all why you should live through this." The crone like old woman told Ariadne as she examined her.

~ In the library, Arthur and Eames were delegated to wait and nothing more. A task they soon found frustrating.  
"It's been over five hours." Eames grumbled.

"That's nothing." Lady Phillipa snapped at him. "Your mother took two days before you arrived."

Eames and Arthur exchanged worried looks.

"I think with Phillipa, it took about 12 hours of labor before we called the surgeon in." Lady Phillipa added.

"Why did you have to call the surgeon?" Arthur asked. He had been nervously pacing around the library and wanted to go up to check on his wife.

"Why, to stop the bleeding of course." Lady Percy told him.

"Maybe we should call the doctor in now. I can send the carriage. A lot of doctors deliver babies in New York." Arthur argued. A dark, creeping fear was slithering towards him as he thought of Ariadne bleeding to death.

"Nonsense." Lady Percy snapped. "Your wife is young and healthy. A woman's body is made to give birth."

"I need to go and check on her." Arthur mumbled as he made to leave the library.

"This is not the time or place for a man's interference." Lady Percy told him standing up. "I'll check on her. I've supervised the birth of every baby born in Blue Rivers, I suppose even your child shouldn't be the exception."

~ Maura was rubbing Ariadne's back as she panted out another contraction.

"You just rest and try and relax, your Ladyship." The midwife said as Maura hummed some kind of folk tune. "You'll need your strength."

"It's been hours, why hasn't the baby come?" Ariadne cried. The pain was so sharp and intense that she was afraid. This was wrong. Something was very wrong. It wasn't supposed to take this long. Already night was creeping back into the sky.

"How is she?" Came a curt, efficient voice.

"Lady Percy." The midwife said with a curtsey.

Ariadne turned to see the formidable older woman standing in the doorway of her room.

"The child is reluctant to come out." The midwife told her politely.

"Have you tried walking her?" Lady Percy asked. As though Ariadne were a troublesome dog or horse.

"I was about to, your ladyship." The midwife said.

"Good, child, that should help the pain and bring the baby faster." Lady Percy said. An unusual gentleness was in her voice.  
"Thank you." Ariadne whispered to the woman who she had been maintaining a tentative friendship with the past few months now.

The midwife and Maura helped her to stand up and she felt another contraction come hard and last for a long time.

"That was about seven minutes I think." The midwife said happily.

"I shall walk with her in the hall. You two finish making the necessary preparations." Lady Percy ordered in her crisp clear voice.

~ "So many children born in this house." Lady Percy said as the walked along an empty corridor. The movement was helping the pain a little. Ariadne could feel the contractions were coming closer now.

"How many, do you think?" Ariadne asked as she fought back a wave of nausea.

"Oh, dear, I think I would have to look in the family bible and even then..." The old woman said fondly.

She looked at the younger woman.

"Your husband is worried about you. A new father, what can he do? The next time around, he'll be better." Lady Percy assured her.

"I'm not really concerned about the next time around." Ariadne laughed.

"You will be. As soon as he or she is here, you'll be ready to do this again." Lady Percy said with a rare smile.

"The pain-"

"The pain will be forgotten. Trust me, you'll see that face and you'll forget all the pain." Lady Percy told her.

"You've had a child." Ariadne accused.

Lady Percy stopped her walking. She looked troubled.  
"I did, yes." She affirmed.

"I thought... I mean." Ariadne tried to say it delicately. Lady Percy was an old maid. Never married.

"I wasn't married. I was fourteen when it happened." Lady Percy told her gravely.

"How? You were so young." Ariadne said. Her disbelief so strong she ignored her next wave of pain.

"It happened; I can't explain it. I was at a party, a ball. I wasn't careful when I separated from my friends. A thing a lady is never supposed to do. I was... one of the young men at the ball, he had been drinking and..." Lady Percy seemed to steel herself again. "Well, the thing happened. My cousin took me home so no one would find out. I never told my father. He was away on business. When it became clear I was to have a baby, Mr. Abbott, who was only ten back then, and my mother kept me confined until the birth came. So no one would ever know. By then my father returned and he found out. I had the child for less then ten days before he took her away from me. Said I was spoiled and no man would want me now. I didn't care about a husband. I just wanted my daughter."

"What did he do with her?" Ariadne gasped.  
"He gave her to a couple in London. My mother agreed I was too young to have a baby. So, here I've been, ever since." Lady Percy told her.

"But haven't you ever wondered what became of her?" Ariadne asked.  
"At first, I did. Mrs. Abbott and I even made a trip to London to take her back." Lady Percy told her. "I had this image of her in my mind of how she would be. My own sweet, little girl."

"Did you go to London? Did you see her?" Ariadne asked.  
"Yes, she was living with a middle class family. They named her Rose. A better name could not be found. She was beautiful." Lady Percy told her sadly. "I saw her waiting on the front steps of a little house. Waiting for her papa to come home. I knew she was mine when I saw her. She looked sad and lonely. As if she knew she had a part of her missing. But then a man came to the house and she ran to him. She belonged to those people. They were good people."

"Lady Percy, I'm so sorry." Ariadne said softly. What must it have been like, to lose a child, not to death, but to have it stolen.

Lady Percy chuckled.

"It was a long time ago. Rose is an old woman herself now. Probably a grandmother." Lady Percy told her.

Ariadne wanted to ask questions, but a sharp, unforgiving pain ripped through her.

"Maura!" Lady Percy was shouting as hot blood was tickling down Ariadne's legs.

Maura ran to the two woman.

"Take her back to the birthing room. NOW!" Lady Percy Barked. "I'm going to have the driver fetch the surgeon!"


	38. Chapter 38

2.

~ What happened next was the worst thing Ariadne had ever endured. Surely, she was paying for her sins with Jeffery now. Her punishment was ripping her apart; she could feel her skin tearing as she could do nothing but scream and cry for her mother.

Maura tied a sheet to the bed post so she might have something to pull on when the pain refused to let her go.

"I want my mother!" Ariadne cried like a three year old as she was drenched in sweat. She wanted this to be over. Suddenly, she didn't want a baby anymore. She wanted to go back to being a carefree girl with a crush on some handsome young man. Day dreaming about a bog wedding and a white gown.  
Lady Percy was by the midwife and they both surveyed the prospective mother.

"I've sent for the surgeon." Lady Percy hissed as she moved a blood soaked towel away.

"Pray he gets here soon." The Midwife told her. A worried scowl on her face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ariadne cried.

"It's fine." Lady Percy said with cool decorum. "I'll go back downstairs and speak with Arthur. Tell him everything is fine. We can't have the men worrying. Knowing that American, he would charge up here and only be in the way."

"It hurts." Ariadne whimpered as another pain ripped through her.  
"Of course it does." Lady Percy said soothingly. "But it will be over soon."

~ The surgeon arrived and Lady Percy slipped him in without Arthur or Eames noticing he had come. She had told them everything was fine and they believed her.

"We can't get the baby's shoulders past, doctor." The midwife exclaimed as Ariadne felt too weak now to push. Maura held her propped up as the older man put his hands on Ariadne.

"Scalpel." He barked to Lady Percy. The older woman nodded and efficiently retrieved and cleaned a scalpel from his bag with alcohol.

"Thank you, Lady Percy." The surgeon said. To Ariadne he said gently: "It's just a little cut, and... now it's over."

Ariadne didn't sense anything more then the intense pain of the labor, and she didn't feel any cut. Only the baby sift and move. A ripping pain going off again.

"Do you feel the urge to push? If you do, then don't hesitate. This child has taken up enough of your day, milady." The surgeon said.

She nodded as an unmistakable need to push took hold of her. With her last strength, she gave out a long push as the older man was telling her to keep pushing.

She felt the baby leave her body then, and fell back against Maura. The pain had let her go for the most part as Lady Percy and the midwife cleaned the infant and she could finally hear her child's screams and cries at the indignity of birth.

"Is it alright?" Ariadne cried out.

"Of course she's alright!" Lady Percy scolded her with a good humor. "With lungs like that, how could she not be?"

"It's a girl?" Ariadne cried in relief. "A girl?" She repeated.

"Hold still, I need to stop the bleeding. I'll give you something for the pain now to." The surgeon said worriedly.

Either she was still oh a high from the labor and birth of her daughter, or she just didn't care, Ariadne didn't feel the surgeon and midwife take the placenta and stitch her up. Lady Percy wrapped her screaming daughter in a warm blanket that Eames had gotten in London and gave her to the new mother. The cries died down immediately and the baby seemed to drop off to sleep effortlessly.

Lady Percy had been right. The face that peeked out of that swaddled wrap made Ariadne's heart ache for the child.

The newborn was wrinkled and red. Her dark hair was matted on her head as she looked grumpy in her sleep.

"She looks like an old man." Ariadne laughed as Maura cried.

She looked affectionately at her daughter and didn't notice the worried scowl on Lady Percy's brow.

"We need to stop this bleeding." The surgeon grumbled and he barked at Lady Percy to get him a syringe.

Ariadne felt a sharp pain in her already spent body.

"What's happening?" She whispered.

"Nothing at all. The good doctor will give you something for pain now." Lady Percy told her gently.

"Yes, it's called diamorphine, it will put you to sleep no problem. When you wake up, you'll feel better and this will all be over." He said as he readied a glass syringe.

Ariadne felt the drugs take effect immediately, and she could feel her body slipping away.

"Maura!" She called out as her maid took that little wrinkled face away.

Ariadne fought to stay awake. She knew she might not wake up if she went to sleep. She fought to keep her place in this world. She knew she was dieing. Knew she would never see her daughter or Arthur again.

'_No, that face. I can't leave that face._' She thought rebelliously.  
"Maura!" She called again till the scared young maid came back to her. Holding the little bundle with the that wrinkled face she loved so dearly.

Ariadne touched her daughter's cheek and nose.

"Call her Olivia." Ariadne told her maid. "Tell Arthur, tell him to take care of her. Always take care of her. Call her Olivia."

Then the blackness took her.

~ Arthur and Eames were waiting in the library when dawn finally came. Both men had fallen asleep in the comfortable arm chairs as they waited for news.

"Arthur?" Lady Percy was hissing at him. "Wake up."

Arthur jumped awake and looked curiously at the old woman. What was Lady Percy doing in his bedroom? He had to take a moment to remember where he was. What had happened.

"Ariadne?" He asked.  
"The surgeon needs to see you." Was all Lady Percy would say as they left Eames sleeping.

Arthur felt like a school boy, sent to the principle's office, as he walked up the stairs. He hadn't shaven all day and knew he must look unrepresentable to the surgeon.

An older man was waiting for them in front of their door.

"Are you the husband?" He asked.

Arthur nodded.

"Well, you are the father of a very fine baby girl. Very healthy. I congratulate you." The surgeon said.

"My wife?" Arthur asked as he processed the baby was finally here.

The surgeon looked uncomfortable.

"Sir, there were many complications." He said.

"My wife? Is she alright?"

"There was heavy bleeding. Her size was a great hindrance. The baby was bigger then we would have liked. I've given her something for the pain. She is resting comfortably for now." He explained. "The next few hours will be very telling."

"She's going to be alright. Isn't she?" Arthur asked. This couldn't be happening.

"She has every advantage on her side." The surgeon said. "But I can't say for certain she will live. I'll send a wet nurse for the infant. If your wife does pull through, it's important she doesn't try to feed the baby herself. She'll need all her strength."

"I need to see her." Arthur told them. He had to see her. Had to prove the surgeon wrong. If only they had stayed in New York, this might not have happened.

~ She laid in bed like sleeping beauty. Her skin was pale and gray as the doctor checked her pulse and heart beat.

"Lady Percy, I trust you to look after her. Make sure she keeps breathing." The surgeon told her.

Arthur was taken aback by the smell of hot blood that still clung to the room. All sighs of the birth had been neatly hidden away except for the smell.

He felt uncomfortable as the odor seemed to permeate his nose and clothing. He wanted to escape, but his poor, sweet Ariadne lay there in their bed. She small, spent body looked ready to be laid out in a coffin. Surely, she would not live through this.

"Ariadne?" He whispered taking her hand; her fingers like ice.

Her eyes fluttered and she was back asleep again.

~ Maura was rocking a tightly wrapped bundle in the nursery. Phillipa had long ago been moved into her own suite of rooms and Ariadne had redecorated to suit a more modern and less dreary child's room.

Arthur watched the maid rock the baby for a long time before she noticed he was there.

"Oh, sir." Maura said standing up. "Such a fine little girl your missus has given you." She said bustling over to him and presenting the bundle.

Carefully he took it. He had never held a baby before in his life and was worried he wasn't doing it right.

A reddish, wrinkled face greeted him. The baby girl looked angry as a few of her little fingers peeped out of the wrapping. Flexing open and closed as she slept.

"The missus asked we call her Olivia." Maura said. "I know just what she meant by it. She looks like she's old enough." The maid said with a humorous tone.

Arthur had to smile at that idea. No one had a right to be called Olivia more then this child.

"I think the baby must have whispered her own name to her. Babies do that sometimes. They get born and whisper the name they're meant to have. No other name will suit, you see." Maura told him proudly.

"Yes." Arthur agreed. "She's an Olivia."

Olivia's eyes opened then to look at him. She looked tired and the idea of being new to the world seemed to bore her.

"Hello." Arthur said to her.

Olivia looked at him like she was trying to figure him out. She flexed her long fingers and closed her eyes again.

Arthur smiled at the idea this little creature didn't find him half as interesting as he found her.

"Your missus asked you always take care of her. Just before she went to sleep. She asked we call her Olivia and that you take care of her." Maura said looking said.

Arthur looked at the little maid. Still such a child herself.

"Ariadne's is going to be just fine." Arthur told her. "She'll be alright."


	39. Chapter 39

3.

~ No one was more shocked to wake up then Ariadne was. When she sank into that deep sleep, she was certain it would be forever.

Eames was waiting for her as she swam out of her hangover and opened her eyes.

"Good morning. Or should I say good evening? You've been asleep for two days now." He teased. "Lady Percy told us you would be fine, but you just slept and slept."

"Eames?" She asked in a horse voice.

He hands went to her belly and it was not rounded anymore.  
"Oh, she's out." Eames said as if reading her mind. "She's out and healthy as any baby you could want."

"A girl? She's really okay?" Ariadne breathed. A memory was finding her. A memory of a little face that was red and wrinkled.

"Oh yes. The wet nurse is in with her now. I know you didn't want that, but the doctor insisted." Eames explained.

"No, it's alright." Ariadne said sitting up. Her body gave a protest of pain. She realized she was hungry and thirsty.

"I'm hungry." She complained to Eames.

"I'm sure you are." Eames laughed. "I'll get you something to eat. Do you want me to send Arthur in? He's been worried about you."

"Yes. I want to see my baby to." She told him. She had to see her daughter and was a little angry the baby wasn't with her right now.

"Olivia?" Eames asked with a cocky grin.  
"That's what he named her?" Ariadne asked in surprise.

"No. That's what _you_ named her." Eames teased. "Told Maura to call her Olivia and that's what we did. Finer name for that baby never existed."

"I want to see her!" Ariadne cried. She wanted to see that face again. Wanted to feel if the baby was real.

"Alright. I'll send them both in. Arthur never leaves her alone for long. Their in love you see." Eames told her.

He suddenly bent down to kiss her cheek.  
"Congratulations, Ariadne. You did beautifully." he said.

~ Ariadne felt she had been waiting too long to see her daughter. She was still exhausted and knew she could go back to sleep again easily and sleep for another few hours. But as her nature, she fought against it. Her rebellious side retuning to her before her body did.

Her door opened to reveal Arthur. He carried a pink blanket with him.

"Look who's awake." He said to the bundle as she greedily wanted nothing but her baby.

She didn't care about herself or Arthur or Eames or anything other then that baby just now. She was angry and jealous other people had gotten to hold her daughter before she did.

"Let me see her!" Ariadne told him as a way of greeting.

"Alright." Arthur chuckled as he carefully laid her daughter in her arms.

"Oh!" Ariadne cried at seeing that face. She remembered that face. Still wrinkled and old man like.

Olivia looked up at her mother with large, interested eyes. As if she to had been waiting to meet Ariadne and everyone else had bored her.  
"Hello, Olivia." Ariadne said and felt like she wanted to cry.

Ariadne examined the child's fingers, toes and nails. She made sure she was clean and dry and that she was in fact, a girl.  
"Everything check out?" Eames asked as he came back in with her meal. Ariadne had been halfway through with her inspection of her baby when he returned.

"Yes." Ariadne said happily as Olivia gave her an annoyed look. "Has she been crying a lot?"

"No." Arthur said. "The wet nurse we had come in has been really good. She takes very good care of her."

"Very buck-some country girl." Eames added mischievously. "Now eat something."

"I will." Ariadne said distractedly looking over her daughters' hair.

"Ariadne you've been sleeping for too long and you need to eat." Arthur told her trying to take Olivia away.

Immediately Ariadne wanted to claw at him as she held her daughter closer to her.

Arthur moved back.

"I was going to hold her while you ate." He told her.

"Oh." Ariadne said and reluctantly gave her to Arthur.

Her husband seemed more adept at holding her daughter then she thought possible.

"You're good at that." She noted enviously as Olivia dropped back to sleep in his arms.  
"Oh yes. Were good friends now." Arthur told her as the smell of oatmeal and and fresh fruit hit her. Her stomach perked back up again at the smell of food and she realized she was very hungry.

"I'll send Maura in to help you bath and dress after you've eaten." Eames said leaving them.

"Thank you, Mr. Eames." Arthur told him as he left the new family in peace.

"She just ate?" Ariadne asked as she peeped curiously at Olivia. She couldn't stop looking at this miracle in Arthur's arms. She was jealous she had to stop and eat while he got to hold her.

"Yes." Arthur assured her. "She's a good eater."

"I want to nurse her when she wakes up." Ariadne told him.  
"No. The doctor wants you to get your strength back." Arthur told her.  
"I'm fine." Ariadne told him.

"Ariadne, don't argue with me on this." Arthur snapped. "You almost died. You need to take care of yourself right now."

She gave him an angry look.

"I was surprised I woke up." She admitted sadly.

Arthur nodded.

"I'm very glad you woke up, darling." He whispered. "I wouldn't want this little girl to be without her mother."

"She would have had you." Ariadne said hopefully.

"Absolutely she would have me. But we both need you. I can't pick out my clothes and I never knew all the things you did to keep the house running till you weren't there. I've been a mess without my wife" He laughed.

Arthur looked down at the sleeping baby.

"Olivia doesn't know what to do with me." he added.


	40. Chapter 40

4.

_Two weeks later..._

~ Olivia was a good baby. Her father observed she never cried without cause; her mother disagreed. Nothing Olivia did would tarnish Arthur's view of her as being a perfect baby.

Ariadne sent out the birth announcements to over a thousand friends. Despite Lady Percy's objections that such a thing was a self promoting American habit, and it would be better to mention the birth after a few months in a letter.

The one great tragedy for Ariadne was she still wasn't allowed to nurse her child.

~ "I'm afraid, you're just not strong enough to nourish the child yet." The surgeon said a few weeks after Olivia's arrival.

"Doctor, I've healed very well from the birth." Ariadne protested.

The day after she finally held her baby, Maura had helped her wash and she was shocked at the stretched skin and soreness of her own body. Everything hurt and even ran red with new blood if she moved around too much.

However, Ariadne, stubborn as ever, refused to lay in bed all day. She fought back the stiffness and pain to spend as much time as she could with her daughter and hated the fact she had to hand her over to a wet nurse for feeding.

Her own breasts were large and groaning with milk enough for her child, and it no longer made sense that she was forced to ignore her most primal of instincts as a mother.

"There is no reason for you to weaken yourself, madam." The surgeon protested.

He leaned away from her as Ariadne gave him a cold, angry stare.

~ "Missus, I'll be taking her back to the wet nurse." Maura said as soon as the doctor left.

"No, Maura." Ariadne snapped. "It's time I started nursing her myself."

"But missus, the man said-"

"I do not care what he said. I know my own body. This is my child and I will feed her as I see fit." Ariadne told her maid in her clearest voice.

~ Half an hour later, Ariadne was hoping for a miracle.

A mother nursing a baby looked so natural; so easy. Yet, Ariadne found it much more challenging to master. Olivia didn't seem to want to take her nipple and when she did, Ariadne wasn't sure she was getting anything.

"I just... I can't tell." Ariadne fumed in frustration as she shifted Olivia's head up. The baby losing interest in feeding again and starting to cry in irritation and hunger.

"Shall I get the nurse, Missus?" Maura asked worriedly.

"No, we can do this!" Ariadne snapped feeling irritated. What kind of mother was she if she couldn't nurse her own baby?

"What's all this shouting and crying?" came the interruption of Mr. Eames.

Ariadne quickly covered herself and Olivia with a small blanket.

Eames seemed to know he had intruded on a private moment and kept his distance.

Ariadne felt Olivia start to kick and squirm and cry again. The whole enterprise of feeding her failing miserably.

"Is everything alright?" Eames asked from where he stood. Maura made a little curtsey and scurried out of the room. Ariadne let out a sigh.

"I've been trying to nurse her, she just isn't doing it. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong." Ariadne confessed to her friend.

"She's been nursing alright with the wet nurse?" Eames asked coming a little close.

"Yes. But I want to nurse her." Ariadne said childishly. It was unfair that she couldn't do this with her daughter. This was her baby wasn't it?

"It might be confusing for her. She's just a baby after all." Eames said.

"No, this is supposed to be natural. Easy." Ariadne protested.

Olivia started to cry now as Ariadne shifted the blanket off her and accidentally exposed both herself and her breast to Eames.

She felt herself flush red.  
"It's alright." Eames said and politely looked away as she tried to resettle herself.

"She's just not taking the nipple." Ariadne cried suddenly; admitting failure at last.

"She's spoiled. She's used to getting something right away, isn't she?" Eames said coming to her.

Ariadne felt herself tense up at the closeness of Mr. Eames. After all, he was not her husband, and she had half of her breasts exposed. Eames came to her side and bent down.

"May I?" He asked politely.

Ariadne wasn't sure what he was about to do, but she nodded.

His hands and fingers were strong as he touched her breast. First starting at the high point just above her armpit, then massaging his way down to her nipple.

Ariadne felt instant discomfort both physically and emotionally to have him touch her. His fingers kneading her breast like he was searching for something.

"This is how they train new mothers to nurse at the London hospital. It stimulates the milk to flow out. Olivia won't latch on until she knows she can get something." Eames whispered as with his thumb and index finger, her rolled her nipple till it became hard.

"Try it now." He whispered.

Ariadne had to remember to breath after what had just happened. Eames' hands were now guiding Olivia to her nipple and immediately the baby began to suckle.

It was painful at first. Olivia's mouth was clamped tightly on her nipple.

"Ouch!" She hisses and gripped the side of the rocking chair.

"Here." Eames said, patiently as ever. He grazed a finger across Olivia's cheek and the baby relaxed her jaw slightly. "She needs to open her mouth a little more."

"Oh my!" Ariadne said as she could feel the baby sucking now.

"I asked the matron at the London for any tricks to nurse a baby. That my friend was about to give birth and she told me they have to teach young mothers how to nurse all the time." Eames explained as Olivia opened her big eyes and she and Ariadne looked at each other.

"I never knew it was such a problem." Ariadne confessed.

"Yes, some of the poorer mothers can't afford a wet nurse. They have to rely on friends or let the infant starve. So, the nurses go to their homes and teach them these things." Eames added as he lazily watched Olivia nurse.

"Thank you, Eames." Ariadne said as she put her finger in Olivia's palm and let the baby curl her hand around it.

Olivia scowled at her. The baby obviously put out with her mother talking to someone else when this was supposed to be their time together.

"I think you should go, Mr. Eames. Arthur might come in and get the wrong idea." Ariadne whispered.

"Right you are." Eames said stepping away from her. "I only came to tell you I'll be taking a trip to Asia for a few months."

"What?" Ariadne snapped.

"Yes. The article I wrote, I've been given an advance to write about the mysteries of the orient. In fact, I'll have a sponsor there. A Mr. Saito in Japan who has promised to be my guide." Eames told her. "I didn't want to leave until I was certain you and Olivia would pull through, but now that you're both on the mends, I can go." He explained.

"When, I mean, how long will you be away for?" Ariadne asked in disbelief.

"About six months." Eames said. "It's a fantastic opportunity. I can't pass it up."

"No, I know that." She admitted.

"My only regret is that you won't be accompanying me. I shall be all alone." Eames said with a mirthless laugh.

"Eames, what will I do without you here?" She asked. She couldn't imagine life at Blue Rivers without her friend.

"You have Olivia here. She will find many ways to keep you occupied; that I'm certain." Eames said as he watched the infant. "Then there's you husband." He added.

~ Arthur was waiting in the library when the surgeon found him.

"Doctor!" Arthur said happily at the older man shook his hand. "How is my wife?"  
"Better, although still not well enough for my liking. She want's to nurse the baby. This you mustn't allow. She simply is not strong enough." The surgeon told him.

"I'll make sure she understands this." Arthur told him.

"There is a more intimate matter I wished to discuss with you, sir." The doctor told him.

Arthur nodded for him to have a seat.

"A lady such as your wife's size is far too delicate for the unpleasant task of childbirth. I do not exaggerate when I tell you that the birth almost killed her." The doctor started to say.  
"I understand that. But she's fine now." Arthur said.

"Yes, because she's young and healthy. I must advise you, not to have anymore children with your wife, sir. The trauma would be too great. I understand you will want a son one day. I ask you to keep your wife's fragile health in mind before you give into your natural urges for her. She mustn't fall pregnant again." The surgeon said.  
"Doctor? What are you saying? I'm not supposed to have sex with my wife ever again?" Arthur snapped.

"The risk of pregnancy is too great. The next one could end her. I would advise sleeping in separate bedrooms to minimize the urges. Even going to bed at different hours will help. I understand that you are young and have needs. There are plenty of opportunity's to satisfy them. I saw a fine selection of pretty maids here at the house. Or even a young widow from the village might be happy to accommodate you." The surgeon told him.

"Doctor." Arthur snapped. "I am not the kind of man who has a mistress or fornicates with the maids and I hope I never will be."  
"Sir, I meant no disrespect to your character." the surgeon told him as he stood to leave. "I only want what is best for the lady."

"So do I." Arthur grumbled.


	41. Chapter 41

5.

~ The next few months at Blue Rivers were the happiest of Arthur's life.

He had a fulfilling work life with the phone hub. Fords stocks were on the rise and he was making more money by investing then he did in his own factories. Not that his factories were doing poorly. The rumors of war had them growing and turning out more product then ever before. He was becoming a very, very rich man with each new day.

Added to the good feelings was the fact that Eames was halfway across the globe, his lovely wife and returned to good health, and he had the most wonderful baby girl that ever existed.

~ "See, Olivia, that's Rockefeller. We hate him. He creates monopolies and that's a very bad thing for your papa. We have to have a free market enterprise." He told the baby as he tried to read his paper while balancing the infant on his lap.

Olivia scowled at the newspaper which delighted him.

"Don't the Rockefellers donate money to a lot of charities?" Ariadne asked casually. "A lot of medical causes, I'm sure I read."

She always enjoyed pointing out the good aspects of her husband's mortal enemies. She knew it annoyed him, but that he liked to have someone to have these discussions with.

Arthur gave her a dirty look, but said nothing as he fought a smile coming to his lips.

"Don't you think she's a bit too young to be burdened with the problems of the world, dear?" Ariadne scolded as the couple relaxed in the library after dinner.

Phillipa was playing with her dollhouse and Ariadne was working on her latest story.

"Nonsense, Madam." Arthur snapped. "You yourself believe the world should change for women. I want Olivia here to know all about the stock market and how to make money on her own. I detest the idea of her being dependent on some man for a home and security."

"If she marries a nice man with a lot of money, she won't have to learn about that kind of thing." Ariadne pointed out in that same sugary sweet voice she used to tease him about the Rockefeller clan.

"No. I've decided she's not going to get married. She's going to be a business woman. She won't go to finishing school either. An education in French, deportment, and art are useless." Arthur said in a grouchy tone.  
"Careful, dear." Ariadne laughed. "That's the very education you value so much in your wife."

"That was before. Times are changing for girls." Arthur said looking at Olivia as she bated the black and white picture of Rockefeller.

"Maybe when she's old enough, she can vote and take over my business." Arthur said hopefully.  
Ariadne laughed.  
"Arthur, what if we have a boy? You wouldn't want our son to inherit your business and run it?" she asked hopefully.

Arthur felt a pain of sadness hit him for a moment.

"I think Olivia is already smart enough to run my factories." He said finally.

"What about me?" Phillipa piped up. "Will I have to go to finishing school or will I have to be a business woman?"

"Phillipa, you can do whatever you like. You can have me teach you French, art and decorum, and you can have Arthur teach you how to be a business woman." Ariadne told her.

"Lady Percy says I'll have to go away to finishing school." Phillipa said.  
"Would you _want _to go away?" Ariadne asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I want to meet other little girls, and have coming out parties. Lady Percy says she's still friends with the girls she met in finishing school." Phillipa said as Olivia fussed at Arthur to read her some more of the business section.

"That's true, dearest." Ariadne admitted. "You'll make lots of friends if you go away to school. But we're still a long ways off from that. You won't have to decide for a few more years yet."  
"I think I want to be a baker. I like to help make cakes with cook downstairs." Phillipa told them.

"Well, we can open your very own bakery, then." Arthur laughed.

~ That night, Arthur pretended to work late. His lovely wife, becoming more lovely each day since Olivia's birth, had put the baby and Phillipa to bed and told him not to stay up too late.

He missed her.

He had been following the doctor's advice in leaving Ariadne alone at night. It was only a few months since she had endured the trauma of Olivia's birth and he was afraid of hurting her. He knew almost nothing about woman who had children. The very real fear the Ariadne could fall pregnant again, and that it could kill her, haunted his mind.

They had all been lucky with Olivia. It was too much to ask that they have a second chance with another child. He did want a son, maybe another daughter as well. But it wouldn't be worth Ariadne's life.

It was almost midnight when he went to his room. He had been sleeping there since the baby came. At first, it had been out of practical necessity. His wife was still weak and needed her rest. Then, Olivia was crying for her late night feedings.

Arthur had been happy when he learned Ariadne had defied the doctor's orders and nursed Olivia. He had to scold her gently about her health when he found out, but he was pleased at her rebellion, and the advantage it gave to her figure.

She now had a body that was amazing to him and impossible to ignore. This made his sleeping in another room all the more difficult.

When he reached his room, he thought it was odd that some careless maid had left the bedside lights on by his bed. He made a mental not to speak with the housekeeper when he noticed his bed wasn't empty.

"Hello, my love." Ariadne said from her cozy nest of blankets. Her dark hair was covering her large, full breasts as she grinned innocently at him.

It was clear she wasn't wearing anything under the covers, and relied on her long, dark hair to conceal her more secretive place.

"Hello, darling." Arthur said with a hard swallow.

His body snapped into life at the sight of her. For a second, he felt akin to Hylas, when he fell so helplessly in love with the water nymphs, he abandoned all ties to the real world to live in their love forever.  
"I thought you had gone to bed." He said as he felt his body respond to her. His desire for his lovely bride making his thinking slow and stupid.  
"I am in bed, my love." She cooed.

Arthur had to chuckle at that.

"Aren't you... I mean, do you think you're ready?" He asked. "You just had the baby."

"Two months ago." Ariadne reminded him. "I'm healed now."

"I don't want to hurt you." Arthur admitted as a last resort.  
"You won't." She assured him. Her voice pulling him in.

He found his body had betrayed him and he was in bed with her before he could understand how such a thing had happened.

"I've missed you." She breathed into his kiss. "I've missed being with you."

"We can't." Arthur stammered as he felt her little hands move to his shirt buttons. Her naked body stunning with the fulness of new motherhood.

"Why not?" Ariadne giggled.

"Ariadne, we can't have another baby." he panted as her kiss made his mind and body weak.

Like a light going off, she snapped away from him. Her face in a rage.  
"Why not?" She barked angrily.

Arthur felt himself come back as the nymph let him go.

He sighed heavily.

"The doctor has advised we... that you not become pregnant ever again. After the trauma of Olivia." He explained. "He told me we should even stop sleeping together because the temptation would be too great to be with you. He said your health is at very real risk if you tried to have another baby."

"Arthur! You're listening to that? I'm fine. Every delivery is hard. The midwife says the first is always the hardest. By the second or third, it will be fine." She told him. Her little hands caressing up his neck in a way that make his skin spark to like.

How lovely she looked. Her breasts peeking out at him. The nymph luring him to a realm of carnal pleasures.

"Ariadne, I almost lost you. I can't risk that again." He panted as he felt the strong pull to be with her grow more demanding.

"You don't want to be with me anymore?" She said. Tears building in her eyes.  
"It's not what I _want_. I _want_ to be with you. But, I want you alive more. We have to think of Olivia. Not to mention Phillipa. She's already lost one mother." Arthur explained.

"Arthur, I want another baby. I want a baby with you. Women have babies all the time." She laughed. Her hands running through his hair in the way she knew he liked.

"Women also _die_ in child birth all the time. I was so worried when I first saw you after Olivia was born. What if I had lost you? What would I have done?" He asked. He was forced to pull her hand off him so he could focus.

"Arthur?" She questioned as he moved away from her.

Her lovely face looking hurt and betrayed.  
"I think you should go back to your room, madam." He said with great effort.

She gave him an angry stare as she meekly slipped out of his bed and covered that beautiful, full body with a robe.

"Good night." She whispered as he could tell she was waiting to reach her room before she started to cry.


	42. Chapter 42

**Part IX **

**Temptation**

_July, 1913_

_Blue Rivers_

1.

~ "It should come at any time." Arthur said as a crowd was gathered around him and Ariadne. They were in the basement of the manor house. A place they almost never ventured down to because it was the work space of the servants and rarely seen by the upstairs family. Ariadne noticed it was very much like a home down here. There was a sitting room with a cheery fire place and portraits of the monarchs over the mantle. A large table for their meals and everything was very homey and comfortable.

"Mr. Cobb said he would call at three o'clock. It's three now." Maura said eagerly.

Ariadne hushed her as Arthur scowled at the clock.

He didn't need to be reminded of the time. This was the telephone hub's first call. It was fitting they would call Blue Rivers. The hub, the cottage hospital and Blue Rivers were the only phones in the village for now.

Cobb was at the hub in the village with a large crowd around him as he was about to call the manor house. All the servants and family were downstairs in the butler's office waiting to receive it.

Miles looked nervous as they all looked at the strange device; waiting to see what it would do.

Suddenly a sharp buzzing and loud ring came out of the contraption. Olivia fussed at the noise but was soothed by her mother.

Arthur looked proudly at his wife. She and his daughter were dressed beautifully as befitting this important occasion. Ariadne looked at him with admiration, Olivia with boredom.  
"Miles, the honor is yours." Arthur said to the butler as the telephone rang again.

"Very good, sir." Miles said with a little bow.

The older gentleman seemed afraid to touch the telephone. It was ringing and even though Arthur had taught him to use it, the older man was reluctant.

Finally, Miles picked up the ear piece and then the mouth piece.

"Blue Rivers. This is the butler speaking." He said in his clearest voice.

The group of servants and family waited and watched the butler. Phillipa's eyes were wide and Lady Percy looked distrustful of the whole affair.

"Yes, Mr. Cobb. Yes. I can hear you quite well." Miles said.

The butler turned to Arthur.

"He wishes to speak with you, sir." he said.

Arthur was chuckling as he took the ear and mouth piece. He had spoken on the phone before, but it would never grow old for him.

"Cobb?" He asked into the receiver.

"You should see the crowd out here, Arthur." Cobb was laughing. I've got about a hundred people wanting to give the new telephone a try."  
"Well, start putting them on. We have plenty of people here who are good for a talk." Arthur laughed and put the ear piece close to Ariadne's ear and the mouth piece in range of her lips. She was still holding the baby and couldn't talk on the phone at the some time.

Olivia threw him an annoyed look as her mother looked delighted.

"Hello?" She called into the mouth piece.

The group waited with baited breath.  
"It's the butcher!" Ariadne said to them. With wide eyed astonishment.

Everyone seemed to think this was amazing. The maids almost jumping up and down.

"Me next!" Phillipa cried as Olivia had enough modern technology and was growing fussy.

"Certainly, miss." Arthur said as Ariadne moved aside to let the little girl have a chance.

"Hello? Who is this?" Phillipa called into the receiver. "Yes, of course I can here you. I don't know you, Mrs. Williams. Yes, we have the telephone here in the house. Do you have a telephone there?"

Arthur was laughing as his wife tried to sooth Olivia from her fussiness.  
"I think I'll put her to bed. Too much excitement." Ariadne told her husband as she kissed him on the cheek and left.

Lady Percy was next.

"This is Lady Persephone Bradford." She said a little louder then necessary. "Yes. I can hear you. Who is this? Oh yes, Mr. Martian. How is your wife? Oh? Well, I trust the rest of your family is in good health."

Arthur watched as the housekeeper and maids all had a turn on the new telephone.

"Miles, make sure everyone has a chance to talk, then keep it locked in your office. Only you and the housekeeper need to have keys." Arthur told him as Phillipa asked Lady Percy how the telephone worked.  
"I've no idea child." Lady Percy told her. "But I'm sure it's only a passing fad."

~ Ariadne was holding Olivia as the baby's fussing grew more petulant as they came up from downstairs. The basement are was much cooler then the upstairs and Ariadne wished she had a reason to stay below. The summer's heat was getting too powerful and Ariadne longed for the coolness of fall to come.

Olivia gave Ariadne a look of mild rebellion that made her mother laugh.

"You _are_ like and old woman." Ariadne said smiling down at the baby.

Olivia's big eye were sad at times, and so uncharacteristic for an infant. It seemed from birth she knew things she had no business knowing at her tender age. It was why Ariadne and Arthur had secretly speculated that Olivia was really a very old woman in a baby's body.

"How did the phone call go, darling? It's all they were talking about in the village. Mr. Cobb even borrowed my camera for the event." A voice called out to her.

Ariadne turned to see Mr. Eames coming out of the conservatory. He was tan rugged looking from his travels.

"Mr. Eames, you're back!" Ariadne exclaimed. She moved Olivia to her hip and gave her friend a hug.

"Are you happy I'm back?" he asked softly as she breathed in the smell of his sun warmed clothing. His hands encircling her waist slightly.

"Of course I am. You've been gone almost four months now." She told him. "We weren't expecting you home till after summer ended."

"We had to cut the trip short, I'm sorry to say. Rebellion and uprisings over there. The news isn't good about the potential for war." Eames told her.

"What kind of rebellion?" Ariadne asked as Olivia stared at Eames curiously with her big eyes.

Eames was distracted by the baby.

"She's grown." He said with a smile as Olivia and Eames observed one another respectfully. "She looks a lot like you."

Ariadne had to swallow hard at what was meant to be a compliment. Olivia, had her eyes, that was true, but the similarities stopped there. She had Jeffery's light brown hair that curled. She even had his face. Jeffery had been a handsome young man and Ariadne was grateful she been gifted with a child that had his best features. But still, it was hard to look at Olivia and not see Jeffery. Not see the man who broke her heart.

"Why didn't you write?" Ariadne asked as she handed Olivia over to Eames. The baby looking at this stranger with her cool, detached interest.

"Been moving around too much. We never were at any place for every long." He told her as they went back into the conservatory. He held Olivia easily; the baby seeming soothed in his capable arms.

The gardens were getting ready for the fall planting and there were rose bushes struggling to grow.

"You missed all the flower shows and the carnivals and fairs. It was really very nice." Ariadne told him.

"I know." Eames said as he shifted Olivia to one arm and took her hand. "I thought about you the whole time I was over there, I promise."

Ariadne blushed hard. The memory of the last time she saw him came flooding back.

"How are you?" He whispered as they took their seats in the conservatory.

"I'm fine. Been looking after her." She nodded to her daughter. "Working on a new story or two." she added.

"Tell me about them."

"Well, one is about this girl. She is very ugly and people make fun of her a lot. Then, as soon as the sun goes down, she climbs to a very tall building and transforms into this magnificent winged demon. She flies all over the city and devours the people who were so mean to her when she was in her human form. See, when she's human, she's ugly. But when she's this horrible demon, she's beautiful." Ariadne told him excitedly.

"That sounds interesting." Eames said as Olivia started to nod off. Eames had his feet up on a little end table and the baby relaxed against him and fell asleep.  
"She normally doesn't take to strangers so well." Ariadne mused as she watched her daughter sleeping.

"Well, I'm hardly a stranger now, am I?" Eames said with a laugh.

Carefully, so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping infant, he pulled out a thick envelope.  
"I brought you some pictures. Also a visitor for you later this week. Mr. Saito has come back with me from Japan to learn about our culture. He's a very interesting man. He finds me tiresome, but I think he and Arthur will get along like a household fire." Eames said as Ariadne looked thought the pictures of strange looking buildings and people.

"Oh my, Eames." She breathed as she took in every detail of the exotic locals of where her friend had been.

He shrugged.

"How are you and Arthur doing?" He asked.

Ariadne felt her stomach turn. She didn't want to think about that.

"Arthur's fine. I'm fine." She said returning to the pictures.

"How are you _together_?" Eames asked with a scowl.

"He's been really busy." Ariadne told him. "He's been trying to get telephone service to the village and it hasn't been easy."

"I see." Eames said looking down at Olivia sleeping soundly.

"We're fine, Eames." Ariadne snapped. "These pictures are really good."

"Yes, National Geographic Magazine is buying them. They have offered me a chance to be one of their correspondents if the war come." Eames told her.

Ariadne stopped looking through the pictures and stared at Eames.

"What?" She asked in stunned disbelief.

Eames shrugged.

"You'll be at the front. That's what that means. You'll be at the front reporting it." She accused.

"I haven't given them an answer yet, and the war is still far away." He told her.

She looked at him in shock.

"Eames." She breathed.

"You know, it's really hot in this house. Why don't we go for a swim?" He asked.

"What?" Ariadne questioned with a laugh.

"Why not? We can give the baby to Maura and you and I can go to a swimming hole I know. Everyone's in town with the phone and we'll be alone. It'll be fun." Eames pressured.

"Eames, I don't have a bathing dress." Ariadne protested.  
"I don't have a bathing dress either, but that won't keep me from swimming." Eames told her.

**This new chap was just to piss you guys off a little before bedtime.**

**I love you guys, but you A&A shippers will hate me for this next chapter. (evil laugh)**


	43. Chapter 43

2.

~ Maura was found and Olivia, already sleeping, was put down for her nap.

"I'll be going on a walk, Maura. Should Arthur ask." She told her maid as she slipped out trough the conservatory after Eames.  
"Oh, yes, Missus. I think he's busy with the phone just now." Maura assured her.

~ The summer heat was on and the trek through the neat little gardens turned into a hike through dense, unkempt trees and tall grasses.

"Mr. Eames!" Ariadne cried as a low lying tree limb caught her hair and pulled out her carefully placed hair comb. Her long locks fell down and she was stuck in the limbs like a rouge fly in a web.

"Fear not." Eames said with a humorous smile. He carefully disentangled her hair from the tree branches, and they were on the march once more.

"Are you certain there are no snakes here?" Ariadne called.  
"Don't worry, I've never been bitten or even seen one around here." He laughed.

"There's always a first time for everything!" Ariadne called out nervously looking at the menacingly tall grass.

Eames seemed to take pity on her. He knelt down in the tall grass.  
"Climb up." he ordered.

"What? You want to carry me?" She asked.

"I won't have you bitten or too scared to come back here with me, now can I?" Eames said as her small frame fitted neatly onto his back.

Eames, with his broad heavy build easily carried her on his back. Her legs, dangling, most unladylike out of his arms.

"Are you sure I'm not too heavy?" She asked.

He chuckled.  
"When I was hiking the Great Wall of China, I had to carry my ruck sack on my back and a so called _portable_ typewriter in it's case. You're light as a feather compared to all that." He told her.

"You have a portable typewriter?" She asked. Her curiosity piqued. "I've always wanted one."

"Why not get one?" He asked.  
"Well... I don't know how to use it. Plus it's not suitable for ladies to use." She explained feeling foolish.

"I see." Eames said coldly.

"What?"

"Well, I suppose having a baby has made you more domestic. You used to be so fearless about these things, darling. The Ariadne I left behind would never let a thing like not knowing how to do something, or it not being proper, stop her." Eames told her arrogantly.

"I'm the same as I ever was Eames!" She chided him.  
"I can teach you to type if you wish." He told her. "Then you won't have an excuse other then cowardice." Eames told her.  
"I'm not a coward, Mr. Eames!" Ariadne shouted as her friend set foot on a sandy beach and promptly let go of her legs. She slid off his back and almost fell down into the sand. Her hands clutching that strong, masculine body for support.

"Blue Rivers pond." Eames whispered. "The family owns it, so it's quite secluded. When I was a boy, I swam here all day."

The pond was impressive. Not big enough to be called a lake, but more of a resting place beside the Blue River.

"It's beautiful." Ariadne whispered.

She watched in horror as Eames started to undress in front of her. The young man doing nothing to hide his body as his clothing slipped off him.

"Eames, what are you doing?" She cried out. Averting her eyes.  
"You don't expect to swim in your clothes now do you?" He teased as he quickly pulled off his white shirt. Exposing a broad, handsome chest with no tan lines.  
"I don't expect to swim at all, Mr. Eames." She told him politely. "I told you, I don't have a bathing dress."

"Oh. So motherhood and marriage to that old stick in the mud has changed you!" Eames challenged.

She watched in horror as her friend pulled off his socks and let his pants slip off his hips. Exposing his naked body before all of creation. Ariadne quickly looked away as he wadded fearlessly out into the waters.

His well toned body vanishing slowly in the inky blue stillness of the pond.

"It's cold!" He shouted with a laugh. "Don't you want to cool off?"

Ariadne felt her feathers had been ruffled by his comment that motherhood and a husband had made her just another old matron. She loved her baby; loved spending lazy days just being a mother to Olivia. She loved staying at the house all day with Arthur, the baby and Phillipa. The four of them like a real family now.

But she was still the same girl she always was. It wasn't too long ago she had stolen around Paris to see art museums and bought a book about a demon barber. She was the still the same girl who wrote a story about class oppression and had it published. She was still this girl, motherhood hadn't changed her.

"Alright!" Ariadne called out at last. "But you have to turn around!"

Eames gave a little smile.

"Worried I'll pass out from the shock and drown? Very thoughtful of you, darling!" He called back.

"Turn around!" She commanded.

Eames tread water and turned his body to look at a far away mountain ridge.

She was shaking as her fingers went to her summer dress and undid the the first few buttons and slipped her dress over her head. Her long dark hair was getting in the way, so she tied it up in a braid and repined it with her hair comb.

It took her much longer to undress then it did Eames. Women, ever the victims of fashion trends, had much more to take off. Her stockings, her corset, her underthings.

A ripple of forbidden fear went off in her body as the warm air was kissing her unprotected skin. She realized she had never been naked outside before, and her hands went to her breasts. Protecting herself for the seclusion and serenity of nature.

She took a deep breath for courage and then turned to the pond.

Eames had swam closer to the shore line and was watching her.

"Eames!" She cried out looking to grab her dress for cover.  
"Come into the water. I won't see you." He said lazily.  
"You said you won't look!" She said as his eyes raked over her body.

"No, I didn't." He said with an evil look in his eyes. "Come into the water."

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she surrender to the fact he wasn't going to look away.

She kept her arms and hands covering her breasts and lower reigns as she dipped her feet into the water.

"It's freezing!" She cried.  
"You'll get use to it." He told her.

He watched her as she eased her naked body into the cold bath of the pond. She was careful not to get her hair wet. She didn't want to have to explain wet, disheveled hair to Maura later.

She had practiced swimming at her finishing school, and found the lessons came back to her as the cold water prickled every part of her naked body.

The hot, July sun baked them over head as the cold waters chilled their bodies.

"Better?" Eames asked. His roguish smile back on his face.

"Yes." she admitted. She was grateful she couldn't see his body through the darkness of the waters, and hopefully he couldn't see her.  
"You shouldn't have looked!" She scolded in irritation.  
"You're not the first lady I've seen in all her glory before." Eames said in his own defense. "Although you are the most impressive. You can't ask a mortal man to look away at a goddess, Ariadne."

It was clear he had not guilt about watching her.

"You should still be ashamed of yourself." She scolded as he swam closer to her and she tried to move away. His powerfully built arms catching her quicker then she estimated.

"You're right, I should be ashamed of myself." He panted as he caught her body and pulled her near. "But I never am."

Before she could stop him, his lips were on hers. His strong, inescapable arms were holding her to his chest.  
"Eames." She breathed breaking away from him. Her arms going to cover her breasts again.  
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." He told her. "Water is far too cold for that."

A mischievous smile was on his face again.

"Eames." She breathed as his hands were on her face. Touching her breasts under the concealment of the water.

"I missed you so much while I was away." He whispered as his lips kissed her sweetly again. "I hoped the long absence would change how I feel about you, but it's only made it stronger." He whispered.  
"Eames, I'm married." She pleased weakly.

"I know. Your lovely marriage of convenience. If you want Arthur, if you love him, and want to be with him, tell me now. I swear I won't approach you with anything more then friendship from this moment onward." He said in her ear.

Their bodies, naked under the waters, were pressed together like lovers.

"But if there_ is_ hope for us; then let's not deny it. Let's seize it." he told her as his kiss ravaged her lips once more.

"Eames!" She cried out suddenly. He released her as she swam away from him.

"I shouldn't have come here!" She said as she wadded out of the waters. She went to her clothes, her dress safely resting on tree branches as she didn't bother with her underthings or corset. She had to get covered and do it quickly.

Eames was watching her as she pulled her dress on and marched off the beach and into the ticket of grass again.


	44. Chapter 44

3.

~ Arthur sat at his desk in the library. A timid girl of about twenty sat nervously across from him. Her big, blue eyes flicked around the library and avoided his stare.  
"I'm sorry, I just don't understand. Lady Percy never said a word about you." Arthur admitted as the young woman shifted in her seat.

From a corner of the room, a little boy in patched, thread worn clothes sat playing with some of Phillipa's toys. The little girl in her room or somewhere else in the house. The boy played quietly and looked as scared as the young woman to be here in the great house.  
"I know Lady Percy didn't say anything. It's not her way. She's a great one for discretion you see." The young woman said. "But James and I, we haven't been doing very well since she stopped sending the support money."

"Support money for what exactly, Missus?" Arthur asked as the little boy politely looked at a picture book.

"No _Missus_." the girl said uncomfortably. "Never been nobody's wife. Never plan to be. My name is Margret Williams, but everyone calls me Maggie. My son is James Williams." She explained.

"See, that doesn't help me to understand why Lady Percy sent you money." Arthur told her in the kindest way he knew how.

Margret Williams was a pretty young woman. She had blue eyes that sparkled bright like the sea, and very fair skin. Her red hair could barely be pinned away and she seemed at any moment, ready to admit she was some kind a fairy, and not a mortal woman at all.  
"James, here. His name is Williams, but if the truth has to be know; it should be Bradford. Same as you, my lord." Margret said.

"I'm sorry..." Arthur said still not understanding.  
"He's the late Mr. Bradford's child." Margret said looking ready to cry.

Arthur sat back in his chair. He suddenly remembered his first day here at Blue Rivers. Going through the books and stopping some mysterious support checks to a person named Maggie Williams.  
"I used to work here, sir." Margret admitted sadly. "Lord Bradford, he was missing his wife. She had passed away and I looked after little Phillipa back then. Lord Bradford and I got along real well, sir. Too well as things happened. I didn't mean for it to happen. I tried to be a good girl. He would come into my room at night and I was afraid to say no. When I found out I was expecting James, he threw me out of the house. Lady Percy started to send me money. She wrote to me asking how we were getting on. When that big ship sank, she wrote to say he was on it with Simon." She started to weep.

"Miss Williams, it's alright. I'm not judging you." Arthur said sadly. He looked at the boy again. Arthur remembered the photographs of the late Lord Bradford Eames had shown him.

James had the same light hair, the same face.

"I'm sorry, Miss Williams, I had no idea. I never would have stopped the support money if I had known." Arthur said sadly.

Margaret sniffed and dabbed at her nose with a hankie.  
"It's not easy to come back here, sir. To ask for money. But I don't ask for myself. I ask for James. He's a growing boy and food is dear." she said.

"Of course. I'm sorry." Arthur said as he pulled out a leather book where he kept a neatly organized ledger of bank notes.

It was then that something caught his eye out the window. Something he didn't expect.

Ariadne was striding back from the gardens and to the house with her long, dark hair down past her shoulders. Her dress looked rumpled and she seemed to be carrying a white cloth or sheet of some kind.

Arthur watched her march quickly into the house and vanish.

He suddenly remembered the woman and the boy.

"Miss Williams, where are you living now?" He asked. "What kind of schooling is the boy getting?"

Margaret laughed.

"No schooling for him, sir. Can't afford it. It's a trade where we are. We live in Town, but the landlord kicked us out when I couldn't pay the rent. It's just as well, the flat was crawling with rats. I couldn't kept them off most nights." She whispered.

Arthur took in a sharp breath as he added a few more pounds to the note.

He knew Margret wasn't exaggerating. He remembered living in a tenement apartment with his mother and father. The nights when rats would come out so boldly to search for food.

"What do you do for work?" He asked her.

"I take in sewing, laundry." She explained. "Can't work for a family because of James. Maids aren't allowed any attachments."

"I see." Arthur sighed. He tore off the bank note and handed it to her.  
"I wonder if you would consider working here. At Blue Rivers again. You've worked here once before, and I think you'll find things are much improved now that my own family is established." He told her.

Margret stared up at him. Her big blue eyes hopeful and almost happy.  
"I... work here again?" She asked.

"Yes." Arthur told her.  
"What about my boy?" She asked looking at the quite child in the corner.

"He can stay. In America, maids go home to their families. They don't live in the house. You can be a day maid if you like. Rent a small place in the village and walk here to work. I believe there are sitters in the village your son can stay at while you're at work." Arthur explained.

Margret looked at the bank note.

"Or you can go back to London. I'll still send you support for James until he's eighteen." Arthur told her.

"No, I don't want to go back to London, sir. I'd love to come back to Blue Rivers. I'd love to work for you, sir." She said. Her whole face lighting up.

"Good, it's settled. You keep that bank note. It should be enough to rent a place for you and the boy and you can start as soon as the housekeeper says." Arthur told her standing up.

"Oh yes, I forgot about Mrs. Abbot." She told him sadly.

"Mrs. Abbot is no longer employed here, Miss Williams." Arthur told her curtly. The memory of that woman's assault on his wife still in his mind.

"I'm glad to hear. She was horrid, sir." Margret said.

The fairy like girl stood and collected her son. James looked at his mother, then at Arthur and said nothing. His face too thin and sad.

"I'll go down with you to the basement and tell Miles about our arrangement." Arthur said as he thought about how hungry the little boy and his mother must be. "Perhaps cook will have something nice for us to eat. What do you think about that, James?" Arthur asked the boy.

The little boy's face, like his mother's, brightened and he smiled.

"Alright." Arthur said as he folded up his desk and locked it.

Out of the same window he had spotted Ariadne marching back to the house not a few minutes before, he saw a new figure. It looked like a man. His clothing wrinkled and sloppily put on. As the man walked slowly and lazily to the house, Arthur saw it was Mr. Eames.

The dreaded cousin had returned from his travels early and with his shirt halfway undone. His hair wet and his boot in his hands.

It only occurred to Arthur much later that Eames' disheveled appearance might have something to do with Ariadne.


	45. Chapter 45

4.

~ The path back to the house was easy for Ariadne to follow. Eames' trail had trampled down the tall grass from their way in.

She was fuming with embarrassment and anger as she held her shoes and walked barefoot in the grass. She wished now she had taken the time to put her underthings on before her dress. She was carrying a lot of clothes just now. Her body was cold from the swim and her face was hot from her encounter with Eames.

~ It was with great luck and timing she managed to slip into the house and upstairs without anyone seeing her.

Arthur was most likely in the village with his work and the servants were all busy with dinner or other chores. The event of the phone call upsetting the schedule for the day.

She tossed her corset, shoes and underthings in a pile on the floor.

She needed a hot bath just now. She had to wash the smell of swimming with Eames away. A deep smell of guilt that she had let another man see her naked.

Another man had kissed her, touched her.

Eames had seduced her just the way Jeffery had done.

Well she remembered how Jeffery had lulled her into alone time with him each day after classes. The young lovers had hidden away just like she and Eames had done today. In disused classrooms; once even in her parents house while they were away. Jeffery telling her over and over how beautiful she was. How he wanted to marry her and make her happy forever.

She had believed everything he had said. Believed it so much, she had given herself to him with barely a hesitation. She thought she had loved him, but love wasn't real.

The only love she knew was real, was the love she had for Olivia.

Now, with Eames, what was this strange feeling she was having towards this man? A man who was her friend.

Eames wanted something from her she wasn't free to give. If she wasn't married to Arthur, her savior, would she give herself to this rouge?

Arthur was a good man; a good husband and father to her daughter. He was going to raise Olivia as his own. Would Eames do any of that? Eames would leave her as soon as war broke out or some grand adventure called to him.

She felt a cool hatred build in her body for Eames. He was no different from Jeffery. He would promise her the world and abandon her at the slighted bump in the road.

She had a secure and safe marriage with Arthur. She didn't love him with the recklessness of her school girl years, but she hoped that she might one day.

Despite all their disagreements and fighting, she cared for him. The past few months with him had been very happy and contented.

Then, he had told he he didn't want to be with her any more. That he didn't want a child with her. It had broken her heart. Lady Percy had been right. Seeing Olivia, feeling her baby's love and trust made her want another child. She wanted a little boy for Arthur. A little boy for him to teach all his business ideas to.

She wanted to love that little boy as intensely as she loved Olivia. Perhaps, if she had Arthur's baby, she would love him to.

She couldn't risk her life with Arthur for Eames. Even if her husband rejected her in bed, she was happy and content here with him.

He provided her with a comfortable home and security for her and her daughter. She had so much to be grateful for and she couldn't afford to throw it away.

~ After settling Margret in with the housekeeper, Arthur went upstairs in search of his wife. He had a nagging needed to see her he couldn't explain.

Arthur found a curious thing when he came into Ariadne's bed chambers. Her corset and underclothes were piled on the floor next to the bathroom and her shoes were carelessly tossed on her bed. He was raised to always take care of his clothes and found he was neatly tucking her corset and other discarded garments into her wardrobe.

He heard the door to her bathroom click open and his lovely wife emerge, fresh from a bath.

"Hello." He said and she jumped. Her hands going to the collar of her robe.  
"Oh, it's you." She breathed and smiled at him.  
"Who else would it be?" Arthur laughed.

She only smiled sweetly back at him and looked embarrassed.  
"You will never guess what I found out today." Arthur told her as he stepped closer to her. Her body smelling of the goodness of soap and the rose water she used.

"What?" She asked. Her eyes wide and expectant. She seemed nervous and almost leery about something.

"Well, I found out something scandalous has occurred." Arthur told her sitting at her dressing table.

"Arthur." She said suddenly. "I... I don't-"

Arthur couldn't contain his excitement any longer. He had to tell Ariadne what he learned, and didn't allow her to finish.  
"A woman came to the house today, her name is Margret Williams." He told her. "She had a little boy with her; James. Here is the kicker, she used to work here and the late Lord Bradford had an affair with this woman. James is the result of that affair."

"What?" Ariadne said in shocked disbelief.

"Yes." Arthur said with a laugh. "I couldn't believe it either. After his wife died, he began to seek attention from this girl. I guess she was so afraid of losing her place here, she gave into him. Then, she was thrown out of the house when it was discovered she was to have his child. After he died on _Titanic_, we came along, I didn't know what that money was for, and I stopped the payments. It seems Lady Percy was sending this woman, Margret, support for years now. She came here destitute and needing help."

"So, she was looking for money?" Ariadne asked. "And you gave it to her?"

"Of course I did." Arthur told her.  
"You gave this strange woman money just because she claimed to have had your distant relative's illegitimate son?" She accused.

Arthur stood and stepped away from her.  
"That's rather harsh coming from you, madam." Arthur said. He hadn't expected Ariadne to react this way to the news. "I thought you would be the first to applaud my helping her."  
"Arthur, are you going to support this boy just because of this woman's claims?" she fumed.

"James looks like Lord Bradford. I have no doubt he is his son." Arthur challenged. "And, I don't care about the scandal, I did it because it was the right thing to do."

Ariadne sighed.

"I've also hired her as a day maid." Arthur admitted.

"What?" Ariadne barked. "Arthur, _I'm_ in control of who we hire in this house."

"I know, but what was I supposed to do? Send her back to some rat infested flat in London?" He asked.

"The former Lord Bradford didn't care enough about her or their child to properly provide for them, why must we become involved?" She demanded.  
"Ariadne, that could have just have easily been you I saw today. Rat bites were on that little boy. They were both too skinny." Arthur almost shouted at her.

"Now, we're responsible for this woman and her child." Ariadne said sadly.

"Well, she's going to work for us, earn her own way." Arthur told her as he watched his wife start to dress for dinner. His eyes appreciating every luxurious curve of her body since the baby.

"But you still plan to give her support money for the boy." Ariadne said.

"He's Phillipa's half brother. What am I supposed to do?" Arthur asked. "We provide for Phillipa don't we?"

Ariadne shook her head and said nothing.  
"Mr. Eames is back." Arthur said at last.

"I know."

"You saw him already?"

"Um... yes, we spoke briefly. He brought a friend of his from Japan. A Mr. Saito he wants you to meet." Ariadne told him as she tightened the laces of her corset.

"He could have let us know." Arthur grumbled. As his hands found her waist and helped her synch her stays tighter.  
"Mr. Eames thinks you and Saito will like each other." Ariadne said. "And Mr. Saito is in Town for now." Ariadne told him.  
"I suppose we'll have to have him over for dinner." Arthur added as he helped her tie off her corset. His arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to him. His nose resting in her hair.

"I've missed you, darling." He whispered. "It's been lonely for me at night."

"I know. But you made me leave. You can't have it both ways, dear." She whispered back.

He breathed in the oh so feminine smell of her bath water. His wife looking so elegant and perfect; even half dressed.

"What if I'm regretting that right now?" He mused as he nuzzled her neck.  
"Regretting it, dear?" She teased. Her voice tormenting and almost evil. He felt the warmth of her body as he held her, his hands moving down her hips and lifting up her under dress.

"I thought you didn't want this, Arthur." She whispered as he sensed her breathing pick up. Her full breasts heaving under the constraints of her corset.

"I never said I didn't want this." He said softly into her ear. "How could I not want this? We just have to be careful."

"I don't want to be careful. I want Olivia to have a little brother." Ariadne said.

She had pulled not punches with her demands. An action that wounded him right to the heart. Of course he wanted a son; wanted another baby with his wife. Yet, the doctor's waning was still ringing in his ears.

A year ago, he didn't even know her. Now, he couldn't imagine life without her. If he lost her, what would become of him?

"Ariadne." He breathed in an exasperated sigh.

"I had better get dressed, Arthur." She whispered back to him. Her hands moving his off of her body as she slipped away from him.


	46. Chapter 46

5.

~ Dinner that night was an excruciating affair for Ariadne. Eames talked non stop about China and Japan, and all he had seen. Even Arthur and Lady Percy seemed interested in her friend's adventures.

Eames showed no signs of their encounter earlier that day at the pond. He was his normal bright and cheery self.

The men were so engaged in conversation, they didn't notice Ariadne said almost nothing during the entire meal. Her face flushing hot with embarrassment.

~ After dinner, Eames presented his portable typewriter to the family.

The contraption came int it's own wooden case and Ariadne couldn't even lift it.

Eames skillfully picked it up and placed it gently on Arthur's desk. He unlocked the case and revealed a machine that looked like it belonged in a factory, it was so complicated.

"Will I never hear the end of technology?" Lady Percy asked suspiciously. "First that automobile that will not doubt put my groomsman out of work. Then electricity has been run through my home, blinding me every time I walk in a room. Now, all in one day, I have to contend with a telephone and typewriter?"

They ignored her as Eames places a clean sheet of paper and pressed a few keys.

"It's been a sound investment. I've been able to take it with me all over and work. It's always a conversation starter for people. I enjoy showing it off." He told them as Phillipa pressed on the keys tentatively.

"Phillipa, be careful." Ariadne scolded as she held Olivia who was about to go to sleep. Maura had arrived in the library then to put the children to bed and soon the adults were alone.

"Ariadne mentioned she wanted to learn how to use it." Eames said to Arthur.

"To write your stories on?" Arthur asked her with a smile.

"Well, yes. It will make things easier." Ariadne told him.

"Hum. Next you'll be wanting to work at the phone hub." Lady Percy said.

"Perhaps." Ariadne said with a little smile. She sat in Arthur's chair and looked at the imposing, complicated machine.

She stiffened as Eames sat next to her and showed her how to place the paper.

"Make sure the sheet of paper is even and keep your wrists up when you type." He told her as he moved closer to her then she would have liked.

She tired to concentrate on the keys. They weren't in alphabetical order, which made things more difficult.

"They're out of order." She complained.

"You'll learn. They're arranged that way to be easier to type." he explained as she pressed down on an A and a key jumped up and marred the white paper with an black **A**.

She smiled and pressed an **R** and then the rest of her name.

**ARIADNE **

Eames laughed and told her to release the caps key.

"You'll have to press it every time you want to capitalize something. Then let it go. You'll get used to it." He told her as she typed.

**Ariadne**

Arthur had started to talk to Lady Percy about the new maid and they were both too distracted to pay attention to them.

"Let me show you." Eames said and typed out a quick sentence.

**Are you still angry with me?**

She sighed and slowly typed out a response. Grateful Arthur couldn't see or hear.

**Yes. **

He typed next.

**Why?**

She shook her head.

**Because I'm married to Arthur.**

It was his turn to shake his head.

**Do you love him? **

**Why do you sleep in separate rooms?**

She gasped and gave him and angry look.

**That's not your concern. **

**Who told you that we sleep in separate rooms? **

She typed slowly and Eames shrugged and typed.

**You did, darling. **

**Just now. **

**I told you, I won't pursue you if you don't want me. **

His typing was quick and fluid, hers slow and clumsy.

**I don't want you. **

She typed and threw him a dirty look.

**I don't believe that. **

He typed.

**I do not care what you believe, Mr. Eames. **

She felt her face grow hot.

**Why do you sleep in separate rooms?**

He glared at her as he finished typing.

**Not your concern. **

He shook his head.

**He doesn't want you, or you don't want him. **

**I want you. I think you want me to.**

She felt her anger rise. Her hands shaking as she pressed slowly on the keys.

**No, I don't. **

An aggravating smile was on his face then as he typed.

**Then why did you let me see you naked today? **

**I haven't been able to get that image out of my mind. **

**You were beautiful. **

**If you were my wife, I would-**

She suddenly ripped the paper out of the machine.

Arthur and Lady Percy looked over at them as she folded it in half and then in half again. Tucking it into her pocket.

"I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed." She said feebly as she left them.

~ Maura was quick to answer Ariadne's ring that night. It was unusual for her to ask for help undressing, but she really wanted someone to talk to.

"So what's the opinion of this new house maid?" Ariadne asked as Maura gently combed and braided her hair.

"Not so very new, missus. She's been around here before." Maura told her.

"Yes, Arthur told me that." Ariadne said sadly.

"Miles didn't want her to come back to Blue Rivers. That's what all the maids and cook are saying. Cook and Miles remember when she was here a few years ago." Maura told her.

"What happened?" Ariadne asked. A delicious sense of gossip flooding her.

"Well, the cook was saying her little boy, James, is really the son of the Late Lord Bradford. That Maggie is the type to cozy herself up to the master of the house. That she was always trying to promote herself to lady of the house with him. When she found out about her baby, she expected him to marry her, that he was so smitten with her, he wanted to marry her. But Lady Percy wouldn't hear of it. She paid Maggie off and sent her packing." Maura told her delightedly.

"Margret Williams seduced him? Arthur made it seem it was the other way around." Ariadne said sadly.

"I'm sure that's what she told your mister." Maura said. "But Miles and cook weren't happy to see her back. I can tell you that right now. She's pretty as they come, I don't think she had to work too hard to seduce anyone." Maura said as she tied Ariadne's braid.

"Thank you, Maura." Ariadne said numbly as her maid left.

~ That night, Ariadne watched her clock. The insistent tic-tic of the passage of time; moving slower and slower as she felt her nerves jumble and tighten.

Her feet itched to leave her bed and go to Eames' room. She kept thinking about Eames at the pond. That perfect, god like body of his. Almost like it was carved by the great masters. She kept imagining touching him. How, would it feel to have him make love to her?

Her body still had the urge for a man. Jeffery had awoken a primal beast in her that made her hungry with shameful lust. Arthur had only added more fuel to the fire with his gentle, yet powerful maleness. Now, he had turned her away. Denied her body and wounded her heart.

She heard the mantle clock chime one o'clock in the morning and she was still awake. Her heart heavy and her mind still too alive to fall asleep. She was about to throw off her covers and go to Arthur when her door opened.

The hallway was dark and her visitor crept in on silent, cat like feet.

"Arthur?" She whispered into the darkness as a shape appeared in front of her bed.

She snapped on her bedside lamp, grateful that electricity was in the house now and saw a man standing before her.


	47. Chapter 47

**Part X**

**Crash**

1.

~ Arthur noticed his wife was quite at dinner and his cousin was even more talkative then normal. He noticed they way Eames and Ariadne avoided eye contact and didn't speak to each other; when normally, they were always engaged in conversation. Arthur filed these observations away in his mind for later.

His mind like a vault of file cabinets now, full of reports on how Eames would look at Ariadne, how they had secrets together. How she looked walking into the house with her corset and undergarments in one arm. Her dress disheveled, her hair down.

Then, Mr. Eames, strolling lazily after her a few minutes later. His own clothing, likewise disheveled.

"I must say, I don't think it's at all wise to re-hire this maid, Arthur." Lady Percy was saying as Eames was showing Ariadne how to use the type writer.

Fast then slow clacking of keys as he watched his cousin and wife sitting side by side and typing.

Arthur sighed and turned to Lady Percy.  
"She has a child. Which she claims-" Arthur started to say.

"I know very well what she claims." Lady Percy said hotly. "It was a disgraceful matter. One which I had to circumvent as soon I became aware of it. This girl, Maggie is nothing but trouble. Miles is very uneasy about having her in the house again."

"You should have told me right from the start about this woman. I could have kept up the support money if I had known." Arthur told her.

"That girl needs to leave Blue Rivers. She will attempt to use James to make some kind of claim on the title and inheritance." Lady Percy fumed. "I will not have my family dishonored by a girl who gives herself to a man without being married. She has proven she is common and has the lose morals of a whore."

Arthur flinched at the word.

If Lady Percy knew the truth about Ariadne, how Olivia wasn't his, how his marriage to his convenient wife had been arranged, what might she say then?

"I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed." Ariadne said suddenly standing up.

Arthur and Lady Percy looked up from their private conversation to see Ariadne rush out of the library.

Arthur noticed, not for the first time, Eames watching her as she left.

He filed this new bit of information in his mind. A clearer picture coming into view.

~ Lady Percy excused herself from their company as soon as Ariadne left.

"I haven't been feeling well of late. I think I'll go to bed early." She told them as she left.

~ Their liberation from the women total, Arthur and Eames wasted no time catching up.

"It was a gift from Mr. Saito. It's called Sake." Eames said as he poured Arthur a small, brightly colored tea cup halfway. "It's an acquired taste, but I think you'll like it. Mr. Saito had me visit tea houses with him in the Hanamachi and they really know how to make a gentleman feel welcome." He laughed.

"Sounds amazing." Arthur offer as he took a tea cup with no handle that was too tiny to hold properly.

"You drink it like this." Eames showed him. "Covering your mouth completely as you drink. It's considered rude to see you drink or your mouth."

Eames' large hands covered not only the tea cup but also his mouth as he sipped his drink.

Arthur mimicked him.

He knew right away, Sake was not his friend. It was more flavorful then anything he had tasted before. Mixtures of fruit, spices and even the after taste of flowers were left on his tongue.

"It's interesting." Arthur mused as Eames poured him another cup.

"Mr. Saito was generous at the tea houses. Do you know what a Geisha is?" Eames asked.

Arthur shook his head.

"They're like these mythical women. Their faces are painted white and they look so unreal; like some kind of butterfly. They float into rooms and cast spells on you." Eames said as Arthur felt a pleasant buzz start in his brain.

"Truly amazing country. I wish I didn't have to come back home so soon." Eames added.

"Yes, well you are home. I suspect Ariadne was glad to see you. You two were always close." Arthur observed as he helped himself to more Sake. He could grow to like this drink. It didn't bite him like brandy did.

Eames said nothing.

"Too close. I think." Arthur mussed as the Sake made his head buzz happily, and made his tongue more lose.

"I don't know what you mean, cousin." Eames said at last.

"Well, let me clear it up for you. I saw Ariadne returning to the house today with her dress rumpled and her corset and underthings in her hands. You followed her a few minutes later. Now tell me, Mr. Eames, what am I to think on that? What is a husband supposed to think happened between his wife and another man?" Arthur said helping himself to another drink.

He felt like he was at a business meeting; interrogating a foreman who had been accused of stealing. He glared at Eames.

His cousin gave him a smug smile.

"You'll have to ask your wife about that." Eames said.  
"I'm asking you." Arthur barked.

Eames shook his head.

"Eames," Arthur growled. He felt emboldened by the drink. "Leave her alone. She's my wife. I don't have to tell you how much I care for her. Our marriage my have started out as a business arrangement, but it's more then that now."

"If you care so much for her, why dose she want me?" Eames asked. "Why does she sleep in another room?"

Arthur sat back.  
"Did she say she wants to be with you?" Arthur huffed. His hands curling into a fist.

"She didn't have to _say_ anything, Arthur." Eames said with a grin.

~ "Miles?" Ariadne gasped as the butler stood in front of her bed. "What are you doing here?"

She was expecting Arthur to finally come for her tonight, and was surprised to see the elderly gentleman before her.  
"So terribly sorry, ma'am." Miles said looking flustered and embarrassed to be in his night clothes and in her bedroom. "I knocked but I guess you were sleeping, I forgot where the light switch was and... madam, please come downstairs." he asked.

Ariadne tried to still her beating heart as the butler waited outside her door for her to put a robe on and follow him.

"What's happened? It's past one o'clock in in the morning." Ariadne hissed at him.

"I know, ma'am." Miles sighed. "The two footman woke me up when they heard the row. Their room is in the basement and they thought it best to alert only me. They wished to be discrete and not involve the other members of the staff."

"A row?" Ariadne asked.

"It seems Mr. Eames and your husband, um... Lord Bradford, had... overindulged, ma'am. They seemed to have had a disagreement." Miles explained.

"Oh my." Ariadne said feeling a deep frustration at Arthur just now. Her poor husband never could handle drinking very well.

~ She hardly recognized the library just now. A sofa and large potted plant were tipped over. A fine, inlaid table was smashed and glass was everywhere.

She saw her husband sitting at his desk. A handkerchief at his forehead. The white cloth already stained bright red with blood.  
"Arthur!" She gasped as she saw his wounded and marred face.

"Hello." He said to her in a cold greeting.

His eyes seemed darker somehow.  
"I'll fetch some water and a clean towel. We can clean him up a bit, ma'am." Miles said gently.

"Thank you, Miles." Ariadne whispered as she moved the handkerchief off of Arthur's face.

There was a deep gash above his eye, and swelling that would lead to bruising.

"This might need stitches." Ariadne said sadly. "We need to call the doctor."

"No." Arthur said curtly.

"Arthur, this needs to be stitched up properly." She hissed at him.

"It's fine." He grumbled.

"Perhaps I can call Maggie in. She's very handy with sewing and I know this isn't the first time she's had to stitch a person before." Miles offered as he pretested her with a bowl of warm water.

Ariadne was about to wash Arthur's cut when he filched away from her. His eyes cutting her like finely sharpened steel.

"Allow me, ma'am." Miles said. "All this blood is no sight for a lady."

The congenial butler sat in front of Arthur as Ariadne felt like she had been rebuffed by her husband.

She stood and looked around the disastrous room.

Mr. Eames stood in the back of the library next to two rumpled looking foot men in their sleeping clothes.

His dinner jacket was torn and he looked almost as bad as Arthur.

"_You_ did this?" She snapped at him.

Her friend looked saddened to have her so angry with him. His eyes were blood shot and he looked almost slovenly.

"We were drinking." Eames said at last. "These things happen."

He gave her a quick smile. A face that said '_how can you be mad at me?_'

She felt her blood boil over with rage.

"Michael, Andrew," She said to the footmen, both of them brothers who got along well and kept to themselves. "Please have Maggie, and Maggie _alone_, come downstairs with her sewing box. Tell no one but her, and she needs to be quite and discreet."

"Yes, ma'am." The footmen said with a little bow.

"Gentlemen?" She called after them. They turned and looked back worriedly. "Thank you so much for attending to this matter so well. For keeping this house and family above scandal." She told them.

The young men looked happy with the praise and left her.

She turned to Eames like a rabid wolf.

"You attacked my husband?" She growled.  
"No." Eames said lazily. "He attacked me first."

"I don't believe that." She hissed.

"It's true. He's a different man when he's been drinking."

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing." Eames said with a smirk.

"Nothing?" Ariadne accused.

"He seems to think there is something going on with us."

"Why would he think that, Mr. Eames?" She said. She could feel her eyes narrowing. Her hatred for Eames raw and bleeding.  
Eames shook his head and looked smug.

She looked over his wounds. He would have bruises in the morning that would be difficult to explain.  
"Mr. Eames, I think you should remain at the village for the rest of your stay here. As soon as possible, I would like you to return to London." She told him at last.

Eames looked at her as if she were joking.  
"Ariadne?" He whispered.

"Maggie is here, ma'am." Miles said suddenly.

Ariadne turned to see a very pretty young woman with flowing red hair and bright blue eyes.

"You're Margret Williams?" Ariadne asked her.

"I am. Yes, missus." Maggie said in a frightened tone.  
"Maggie and her son James are staying in the maids quarters till they can find a place in the village." Miles explained.

"I see." Ariadne said looking at the fair skin and enviable red hair of this young woman. "Maggie, I know this is unusual and it's very late, but Lord Bradford has had an accident. He doesn't want to upset the doctor this late at night, but I think he will need stitches. Miles thinks you can do the job, but I will understand if you don't wish to." Ariadne told her as diplomatically as possible.

"Oh, no, missus. I've sew stitches on skin before. It won't bother me." Maggie said.

The young woman's face brightened and Ariadne knew this girl didn't have to seduce the late Lord Bradford to have him fall in love with her.

She watched as Maggie took a seat across from Arthur and gently cleaned the wound on Arthur's forehead.

He looked troubled and angry as she washed away the blood and began stitching.

Arthur didn't even flinch as she made tight, quick stitches along his brow.

"Very nicely done, Maggie." Miles observed. "Hopefully there won't be a scar."

"Yes, thank you, Maggie." Ariadne added as Arthur looked up at the maid as if seeing her for the first time.

Ariadne felt an uneasy ripple in her body as she turned to Eames.  
"Mr. Eames, please go to your room. I think we've all had enough excitement for tonight." She told her friend.

Eames gave her an angry, rejected look before stalking away.

Maggie looked at Miles who nodded curtly for her to follow him back upstairs.

Soon Arthur and Ariadne were alone.

**(Evil Laughter)**


	48. Chapter 48

2.

~ "Did you you have intimate relations with Mr. Eames?" Arthur asked. His voice dark and heavy. "I need to know."

Ariadne felt her breath catch.

"No. Arthur, no I didn't." She said as calmly as she knew how.

It was the truth, and it was all she had.

She prayed he would look at her. Look at her, and believe her.

Arthur didn't look at her. He shook his head.

"Mr. Eames... seems to think you want to be with him." He looked at his hands and rubbed his palms together. "_I_ think you want to be with him." He said at last.

"Arthur, I don't." Ariadne pleaded kneeling down to face him. "I want to be with you. I've tried to be with you but you..." She choked back a sob. "You don't want me anymore."

He shook his head. Not even listening to her anymore.  
"I've offered you everything. My life, my home. I even gave you my heart and you..." Arthur refused to look at her. He shook his head and a dark shadow passed over his face.

"Arthur, please. I've never betrayed you." She whispered trying to take his hand.

"_I saw you_." He hissed; his eyes dangerous. "I saw you earlier today coming to the house half dressed. I saw my _wife coming into my home with her hair down and her dress half undone carrying her underclothes!_" He was shouting now.

He stood up sharply, and she backed away.

She was suddenly frightened of him.

She decided she had to confess. God only knew what Eames had told him.  
"Eames and I went swimming. We... we went swimming and he... he did kiss me." She panted as she was certain the time had finally come when her husband would beat her.

She had never seen Arthur looking so angry before.

He still didn't look at her.

"Arthur. Look at me. Please, look at me." She whispered. She couldn't fight the tears from coming to her eyes and falling out. A sense that her whole world was collapsing rushed over her. She was going to lose everything now. She and Olivia would be cast out into the streets and wind up in a rat infested hovel.

"Arthur, I'm sorry. Nothing happened with us. He kissed me and told me he wanted me. I left him there at the pond and I came home. I told him I didn't want him." She said helplessly.

Arthur cared for her and what had she done? She had ruined his love for her like she ruined everything in her life. Once more she was determined to follow a dark thread that would always be her undoing. She would never be satisfied with anything other then her own destruction.  
"Arthur, I'm sorry. Nothing happened. I would never-"

"But you did. You've done it before I even met you. Once a whore, always a whore." Arthur growled. "I don't know why I thought I could make a wife out of you. A respectable wife from a woman who gave herself to a man who wasn't her husband. I should have known you were apt to do it again."

She wasn't sure what had possessed her. She couldn't stop herself. Arthur, her sweet husband had called her that vile word. That name her father had called her. She never thought Arthur would say it.

She slapped him. Harder then she thought possible. Her hand making stinging contact with his face. His drunken state making his reflexes slow and allowing her to hit him perfectly on the face.

~ Arthur took a step back. Stunned and confused by her assault.

"Never call me that again!" She screamed at him. "_Never!_"

"Ariadne." Arthur said softly as she looked ready to hit him again.

He was sobering up quickly and his brain recalled a horrible memory of calling his wife a whore.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he saw the tears in her eyes.  
"I wasn't the first woman you were with, you said you didn't judge me but now you've had a change of heart?" She spat at him.

He stepped away. His beautiful Ariadne more like a vicious snake; attacking him over and over again.  
"I will take my daughter away tonight if you ever call me that again!" She hissed. Her eyes wild and livid.

"I'm sorry." Arthur panted as he back away from her and his heels hit his desk chair. He promptly sat down. "I shouldn't have said it."

"But you meant it!" She snapped angrily. "That's all I'll ever be to you. You could never love a lowly whore now could you?"

He watched stupidly as she stalked out of the library.

~ Lady Percy had taken ill the next morning. She complained of a fever and stayed in her room all day.

Ariadne had likewise kept away from the goings on of the house and Mr. Eames had pulled another of his disappearing acts.

Arthur sat in the library alone for most of the day. It had been cleaned up and all evidence of the fight had been removed.

Still, Arthur need only look in the mirror to be painfully remained that what happened last night had been all too real. He had woken in his room and half hoped it had been a dream. But the large bruise on his face, the deep cut with it's stitching on his brow, was evidence enough.

He turned when he heard a knock on his door.

"Sir?" Came a small voice. Arthur turned to see Maggie standing their waiting.  
"Maggie? How are you today?" He asked trying to sound cheery.

She made a little curtsey and stepped into the library.  
"Sir, there has been a phone call from the village. A man named Mr. Saito has arrived at the train station. It seems Mr. Eames was not there to collect him." Maggie said.

"Why didn't Miles come and tell me this?" Arthur grumbled as he stood and shouldered on his jacket.

"Oh, I think he was resting. Last night was a bit much for a gentleman his age." Maggie said softly.

Arthur sighed.

"Yes, of course it was." He admitted. "I think Mr. Eames might have left us for awhile. I'll go and collect Mr. Saito myself. No reason why the gentleman should have to be put out because of Mr. Eames."

He turned and looked at the pretty maid.

"How are you getting along, Maggie?" He asked.

"Very well, Sir." She said with a soft smile that made her eyes lighten. "James really loves it here. He and Phillipa are playing in the gardens."  
"Good. That's very good to hear." Arthur said.

"I don't know how to thank you for helping us, sir." Maggie added.

"After what happened late night, I'm afraid I haven't made the best of impressions." Arthur said feeling embarrassed.

"I've seen much worse from more haughty people, sir." Maggie said as she brushed off lint from his suit.

~ Arthur recognized Saito right away. Even in more western clothing, a full on suit and bowler hat, Saito looked out of place.

So much so that people openly gawked at him.

"Mr. Saito?" Arthur asked as he approached the elegant gentleman.

"Yes." Saito said in careful English. "Are you Lord Bradford?"

"I am."

"Then I am most grateful to finally meet you. Mr. Eames has spoken highly of you." Saito said with a crisp little bow.

Arthur had held out his hand to shake, but felt foolish, and bowed to.

"Mr. Saito, I'm looking forward to having you at my home for a long as you chose to stay." Arthur said.

"Might I inquire as to Mr. Eames' whereabouts?" Saito asked.

His eyes showing intelligence and a ruthlessness Arthur admired in other people.

"Mr. Eames was suddenly called away." Arthur explained as he walked Mr. Saito to his car.

The Japanese businessman was impressed with the automobile.

"Might I inquire as to what happened to your face, sir?" Saito asked.

Arthur smiled and shrugged.  
"I got into a fight with Mr. Eames last night." He admitted.

Saito looked curiously at Arthur.

Then the well mannered, soft spoken Mr. Saito, threw back his head and laughed.

**Guys, I love you. I love all of you for reading my stories and leaving me awesome feedback. **

**But everyone clam the frack down! **

**I know you are all hard core A&A shippers and this is an A&A story. But there has to be drama for a story to be interesting! Trust me, more drama will come. **

**And I will update soon. Don't I always?**

**(Evil Laughter)**


	49. Chapter 49

3.

~ Arthur liked Mr. Saito. Almost immediately, the two of them seemed to collaborate on ideas and beliefs that no one else around them could understand.

Like Arthur, Saito was a self made man. He had been born into poverty and had been adopted by a merchant and his family who taught him a trade.

Saito had grown rich the same way Arthur had.

~ "It's old money, which means there is no money." Arthur explained when Saito ask about titles and entails.

"It seems very complicated." Saito admitted.

The two of them had retired to the library to talk about business and news of war.  
"It is. Not really worth the trouble." Arthur told him.

"So why pursue it?" Saito asked.

"My grandfather was crowded out of the family." Arthur said. "He and my grandmother died on the crossing to America. Left my father, ten years old, alone in the world. I feel like I owe it to their memory to reclaim the family estate."

"Honor." Saito said with a nod. "Is it honor, or pride?"

"It's both, I'm afraid." Arthur sighed.

"I would give it all up, but my wife loves it here. Then we have our ward, Phillipa, and our very own eccentric old maid of an Aunt who haunts the house and who we can't get rid of." Arthur said.

"We have those in Japan as well." Saito told him with a little grin.

"Have you found a way to get rid of them?"

"No, we were hoping the Americans would think of something." Saito admitted. "Some type of spray perhaps."

"Very amusing, gentlemen." Came a voice.

Arthur started and stood at seeing his wife had come into the library to see their guest.  
"You can only be Mr. Saito. Mr. Eames has told us so much about you. How you were his guide on his travels. We're so pleased to have you here." She said courteously as Arthur and Saito stood in her presence.

No trace of their hateful words to one another was on her face today. She looked as radiant and lovely as ever.

"Yes, Mr. Eames is a very... interesting gentleman. Do we know where he has gone to?" Saito asked.

"I'm afraid not. He left all his things behind. Didn't even take his type writer." Ariadne said sadly.

She didn't look at Arthur as he tried to catch her eye.  
"Mr. Saito, we would love for you to stay the night with us. I've had out butler prepare a room for you and he can attend to you. You must be tired after your travels. We can talk more at dinner after you've rested." Ariadne said kindly as Miles appeared from outside the hallway.

"Oh, how very nice." Saito said with a simple bow, to which Ariadne gave a low curtsey.

Arthur felt that same rush of pride in his wife as Saito followed Miles to his room.

"Ariadne." He said when they were alone.  
"Lady Percy is ill. Very ill." She said in a cold tone. "I've sent for the doctor."

~ Lady Percy's skin was gray and wax like as the surgeon looked her over. She was sweating profusely and gasping for air. Her gray hair was wild and matted to her scalp as she refused to drink any water and cried like a child.

"Some kind of infection. It happens with the elderly very often I'm afraid. Lady Percy has outlived many of her girlhood friends. She's always been healthy, but this was inevitable." He said as Ariadne mopped the old woman's face off with a damp cloth.

Arthur looked worriedly over Lady Percy. Gone was the formidable old woman who had a will of iron and could be so cruel sometimes.

He pulled the doctor aside so they could speak in private.

"Is she going to make it?" Arthur whispered to the surgeon.  
"She's very old, sir." The doctor hissed back.  
"Please, don't do this!" Lady Percy called out. She was gasping for air now.

"It's alright, Lady Percy!" Ariadne said soothingly.

"No! Don't take her! I'm sorry Papa! Please don't take her!"

Arthur watched Ariadne and another maid care for the older woman as the doctor explained to keep her comfortable.

"There is a plot for her in the family graveyard. The undertaker can take her as soon as she... well, I'm very sorry." The doctor said. "I can send a nurse to help. By the look of things, it won't be long now."

"Thank you, doctor." Arthur sighed as he walked the surgeon out.  
"How are you and your wife getting along?" He asked once they were out of the old woman's sick room. .

"Not well, she wants another child and so do I." Arthur grumbled. "It's causing a lot of friction in our marriage.  
"It's much too dangerous to attempt." The doctor said sadly.

Arthur gave the surgeon a cold stare.  
"Ariadne seems to be willing to take the risk. If it makes her happy. I'm missing my wife, sir." Arthur told him.

"I've advised you not to go to her. There are plenty of women who will have you and be discreet. The late Lord Bradford was partial to a young maid a few years ago. He also carried on with a widow in the village.

Arthur rolled his eyes and stalked away from the doctor.

~ Arthur went back upstairs to search for his wife.

She was in her bedroom with Olivia. The baby was sitting up and playing with one of Ariadne's elaborate shoes.

Arthur noticed Ariadne's trunk was out and opened. Clothing scattered all over the room as Ariadne was neatly folding a dress.  
"You're packing." He observed. "You plan to leave me?"

He watched his wife sadly as she wrapped her beaded dress in it's box.  
"After what you called me. I can't live with a man who called me that. It hurt when my father called me that. I loved him more then mother. But I wanted to die when you called me that. Olivia and I would be better off, I think." She said in a soft defeated voice.

"You're taking Olivia with you?" He breathed. His heart started to hurt. His world falling apart.

"She's my child not yours." Ariadne said curtly.

"Please stop packing." Arthur said softly. "Lets talk about this. Where would you go? Back to America?"

"I'm not sure yet, but most likely I'll go back to America. Try to get another teaching position. I'm a married woman with a marriage licenses. No one will look down on me if I move to California. Tell people I'm a widow. They're desperate for teachers out there." She told him.

"California? Ariadne let's be reasonable. That's wild country out there. Trains have just barely made it there and it's completely lawless." Arthur told her as she folded the embroidered wrap he had given her their first night on Mauritania.

"After what you called me, I came back to my room and started to pack. Then I got tired and went to sleep. Then Olivia needed me, then Lady Percy needed me."

"The doctor says she won't make it." Arthur told her.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I like Lady Percy."

"After all she did to you? You can forgive her?" Arthur asked in disbelief. "You can forgive her, but not me."

Olivia looked up at him questioningly. Her big eyes too expressive for a baby.  
"Lady Percy didn't try to drown me. That was Mrs. Abbot. Lady Percy only knows what she was taught. She wasn't prepared for strange Americans to come into her home and turn it upside down like we did. It wasn't easy for her. She's not ready for the modern world, and we forced her to live in it." Ariadne explained.  
"Are you really leaving me?" He asked.

She looked at him with such misery that he felt his heart break.  
"I can't stay here. I can't have my daughter hear what you called me. Perhaps I can go and whore in California." She said sadly.  
"I'm sorry for what I said."

"Nothing to be sorry for. It's good we cleared the air. So I can know how you really feel. I was right not to give you my heart, Arthur. It doesn't hurt that much to have to leave you." She told him.

Ariadne looked at Olivia as the baby stated to play with her mother's shoe again. Wanting to put it in her mouth.

Arthur picked his daughter up, still holding the fancy dress shoe, and moved closer to his wife.  
"Ariadne, I'm jealous of the relationship you had with Eames. You two understand each other in a way I don't think we ever will. I feel like he's a better match for you than I am. I never thought I would have to fight so hard to keep you. I feel like I'm losing you. As soon as Lady Percy is gone, I think we should move back to America. There is nothing for us here but misery. Mr. Eames will never go away if we stay."

"You've been miserable?" She asked in disbelief as she took Olivia from him.

The baby looked at him questioningly.  
"Because this past year has been very happy for me. I've never been more content and fulfilled." She told him.  
"After everything that's happened?" Arthur questioned.  
"None of which was our fault." She told him. "This is our fault now; what we're doing to each other."

"I know. Ariadne, I'm so sorry." He whispered. "Please don't leave me. I couldn't take it if I lost you. I'll do whatever it takes to make things better. Please."

Ariadne buried her face in Olivia's dark hair.

Suddenly, the infant screamed and reached over for Arthur. Almost falling out of Ariadne's hands.  
Arthur caught her neatly as the baby gave him a grin.  
"Please, don't go. Don't take Olivia away from me." He pleaded.

"Missus?" Maura's voice reached them. "You rang Missus? I'm sorry I was in the kitchen and couldn't get away."

Ariadne looked at her maid. She composed herself as Olivia grasped tightly to Arthur's suit and wrinkled it.  
"It's alright, Maura." She said calmly. "I was looking for something in my trunk, but I found it."

"Oh, shall I take the baby? Cook has bade her some mashed potatoes and peas. We can feed her before dinner and set her down. I'll bet she's hungry." Maura said.  
"Oh yes, Maura, Thank you." Ariadne told her maid.

Maura came to collect Olivia from Arthur. The baby fussed at the maid and held fast to him before Maura was able to take her.  
Once they were alone, Arthur took Ariadne's hand.  
"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry for what I said. Eames is gone, lets just put this past us." He whispered.

She was nodding slightly.  
"Never give me a reason to leave you again, Arthur. I'll take Olivia and I'll leave. I'm just grateful that you didn't want another baby. Then where would we be?" She said with a bitter laugh.


	50. Chapter 50

4.

~ Arthur was relived that his wife carried out dinner beautifully as always.; with no trace of any anger towards her husband. Mr. Saito seemed enchanted by her intelligent questions and Arthur felt himself relaxing again.

~ "Your wife is very lovely." Mr. Saito observed after Phillipa and Ariadne left the men alone after dinner.

"Yes," Arthur sighed. "She is."

"You must care for her a great deal. You are lucky; my own marriage was arranged by my family." Saito told him. "I met my bride on our wedding day. I had no choice in the matter of who I would marry."

"Wasn't that hard for you?" Arthur asked.

"At first. But we grew to care for one another. We have five children and she has been a very good wife to me. A man has no right to ask for more." Saito told him.

"How did you manage? Marrying a total stranger? If your personalities didn't match up, or you didn't agree on most things." Arthur asked.

He thought of all the things Ariadne believed in. Her stubbornness, her determination to do as she pleased.

Saito only chuckled.  
"Could your fight with Mr. Eames be because he was after your wife?" he asked.

Arthur was surprised.

"Yes." he admitted.

"No worries. Eames, will find a shinny new toy to chase soon enough. It was how he was in Japan. War will come soon, and he will be a distant memory if he chooses to fight." Saito told him.

"You really think war will come? My factories are making supplies for armories night and day. I'm afraid there will be a strike from all the overtime the foremen are demanding of the workers." Arthur confessed.

Saito looked troubled.

"There are rumblings all over Europe. I've traveled a lot, and I'm afraid this war is inevitable. We can not escape it." Saito admitted. "I fear this 20th century, still very new, will be a bloody one. I feel like death and destruction are on it's way."

He looked at Arthur.

"Take that lovely wife of yours home to America. Stay away from this war." Saito added when Arthur looked concerned.

~ Ariadne couldn't concentrate on her book. She had finally finished writing her short story and her reward was to start on the book Mr. Eames had brought back with him from London for her. It was another gory penny dreadful novel. Each detail more horrific and over done then the last. She would normally devour such a book, but her mind couldn't stay focused.

Her fight with Arthur still weighing heavily in her mind. She couldn't leave Arthur. Where would she go? California? It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But it was wilderness out there. Who would watch Olivia while she worked? She had very little money and no way to ensure her travel expenses. She could go back to Philadelphia. She was married now and respectable; maybe her parents would take her back. What if Arthur tried to keep Olivia? Men gained custody of children from their mothers all the time. What if he took her baby out of spite?  
She felt her lip tremble slightly at the idea of losing her daughter.

Arthur calling her a whore had hurt her more then she thought possible. It was like a knife that plunged in deep and started to turn. It didn't matter that he was drunk when he said it. It still pained her horribly.

When he said that word, it hurt more then when her father had said it.

Only someone she loved could hurt her so much.

~ "Ariadne?" Arthur said.

She snapped awake to find her husband standing over her. She must have fallen asleep trying to read her book and hadn't heard him come in.

"Arthur? What is it?" She asked rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to talk to you." He told her sadly.

She sat up in bed and tried to look like she didn't care. She was still angry with him and he needed to know it.  
"We're leaving Blue Rivers. You, me, the girls and a few of the staff. As soon as Lady Percy passes. We're going back to the states. " He told her.  
"I thought you wanted to live here." Ariadne asked.

"That was before Saito told me about everything that's happening in Russia right now. I had no idea about the rioting. He feels, and I agree, that it will only lead to war. I would feel safer, if we were back in the states. At least until we know more." He told her.  
"Is it that bad?" She asked.

"I'm afraid it might be. To hear Saito talk, it's a powder keg, waiting to go off." Arthur told her.

"What if America gets involved?" Ariadne asked. "You might be drafted."

"America won't get involved in the war." Arthur assured her. "Our factories are making too much money selling weapons to the Germans and the English to take sides."

"Alright." Ariadne whispered.  
"Good. I'll make the announcement to the staff tomorrow. I was thinking we might take only our most valuable servants with us. Maura for you. Miles for myself. The cook and perhaps Margret as a maid of all work." He told her.

She took a deep breath at the idea of bringing Maggie with them. A dark cloud of worry rising up inside her.  
"Our house in New York will be much smaller. We won't need too much help." He told her.

"Arthur, are you sure you want to leave Blue Rivers? We don't have to leave. I mean, Mr. Eames is gone-"

"Do you want to be with Mr. Eames?" Arthur asked.

His voice wasn't cruel or angry. It was only a question and nothing more.

"Because if you want to be with him, tell me now and we can spare each other a lot of heartache." he added.

"Arthur, I don't love Eames." She whispered.

"He seems to understand you more then I do. You get along with him better then you do me. We were strangers who met at a train station and married each other to serve our own purposes. What if Eames is who your meant to be with?" He asked.

His voice worried and child like.

"Shhh." Ariadne hushed him as she pulled her husband closer to her. Arthur rested his head on her chest like a child who had a nightmare.

"I love you." He whispered softly as she smoothed out his hair. "But I'll let you go if you want to be with him."  
"I don't." She said simply. "We have our problems, but we... we cant move past them."

"Did you mean it when you said you were glad we didn't have a baby of our own together?" He asked.

His arms wrapped tightly around her as he curled his long frame into her body.

"No, I didn't mean it. I want another baby." She said sadly.  
"So do I." Arthur sighed. "I've missed you so much. I'm sorry for what I said last night; I didn't mean it. I was angry and drunk."

"I know. I... I do love you, Arthur." She whispered at last.

She took a deep breath as his fingers tickled her bare skin. Releasing the ribbons of her night dress and making the thin, cotton garment fall away.

She did nothing to try and stop him as his lips nuzzled her neck and dipped slowly to her breasts.

"Arthur." She breathed softly as her fingers raked into his hair.

Her husband so clearly in need of her, she forgot everything as she bathed in the euphoria of his love.

**You guys know I can't let them be happy for long. I'll update very soon.**


	51. Chapter 51

**Part XI**

** Found**

**February, 1914**

**Blue Rivers**

1.

~ Arthur watched from his upstairs bedroom as the footmen tied down his trunk and suitcase to the pristine new automobile that had finally retired the horse and carriage at Blue Rivers. It was a regal beauty, big enough accommodate a large family in comfort and safety. Arthur had kept his older car, but Ford stocks had done so well, he treated himself to a more family friendly car.

Ariadne was making sure he didn't forget anything for his trip. Attending to all the little details of her husbands impromptu travel arrangements.

"I don't understand why you can't handle this over the telegraphs." She fumed.

"It's a strike; in two of my factories. I have to be there. I knew this would happen. They're occurring all over the city. More demand and less workers. Even immigrants can only be pushed so far. I was over due to make a visit to the factories months ago." He told her as he pinned on cufflinks. He looked less the regal lord of the house and more the factory owner he was. His brow setting in those deep lines of worry and irritation he always had when they were first married.

"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?" Ariadne asked.  
"Lady Percy still is not herself. Olivia is too young and too into mischief to travel on overseas. I'll be back in less then a month." He told her.  
Ariadne nodded. He was right of course.

Lady Percy had not died from her illness. But the formidable, strong willed old woman they knew before had vanished. She came out of her fever, out of deaths grip, another person entirely.

Her mind was simple and child like now. She didn't recognize anyone in the house, and constantly asked for her parents. She could no longer walk and had lost so much weight, she was skeletal. A nurse had to be hired for her care, and most days, she was lost in her own world.

Phillipa was afraid to go near Lady Percy now, and played with James in the gardens all day. Arthur was reluctant to make plans to leave Blue Rivers permanently until Lady Percy was dead. So far, the past months had been like living in Limbo. Waiting for Lady Percy to die, waiting for war to break out.

Mr. Saito had returned to Japan after a pleasant, month long visit, and he and Arthur wrote often.

Olivia suddenly gave one of her shirks that meant she wanted attention. The little girl growing tired of playing with her toys on the floor of their bedroom and was making a break out the door.

Her newly found walking skills put to the test as she would pull herself up on the side of their bed, stand and survey her world imperiously, and then try to run away before her mother or father could catch her.

It was her favorite game and she felt her parents must surely enjoy it as well, as they always gave chase.  
"Olivia!" Ariadne shouted as the little girl tried to race on unsteady legs to the door, and freedom. "Oh you are indeed my child! No could deny you are my little girl." She scolded gently.  
Arthur was chuckling.

"It's not funny." Ariadne huffed as she caught her daughter who was laughing uncontrollably.

"Sure it is. We need to have a word with Olivia soon. She's growing up much too fast for my liking." Arthur said with a serious tone.

"Well, I'm sure she will have her own view on that subject as soon as she learns to talk, dear." Ariadne sighed as she sat Olivia down in the middle of the room.

Between Phillipa, Olivia and Lady Percy, Ariadne was exhausted.

Arthur looked for a long time at Olivia. The little girl had a head full of dark, curly hair and her brown eyes were large enough to make her look like some kind of doll.

"Dad-da!" She shirked and held out her arms for Arthur.

"Olivia, no!" Ariadne scolded as Arthur made a move to pick her up. He was always weak to this little girl who now glared mutinously at her mother.  
"Ariadne, if you have any good news for me to take back to America, it will certainly make the trip nicer for me." Arthur said hopefully.

Ariadne sucked in her breath.

She knew what he was asking.

They had been trying for a baby of their own since August; so far nothing.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. If I had good news, you would be the first to know." She said sadly as she folded up a small silver frame that held a new picture of her and Olivia.

"Well, when I get back, we can work on it again." Arthur whispered as he kissed her cheek. "We've only been trying a few months now."

"Arthur, what if having Olivia... what if it... broke something inside me? So I couldn't have another baby?" Ariadne asked. Her fears surfacing at last.

She thought she would fall pregnant right away. With Jeffery, she had been with child after only a few months. Now, she was disappointed there was no sign of a baby with Arthur.  
"Don't think that. This time apart will be good for us. I'll return home and we can pick up where we left off." Arthur told her.

They watched as Olivia, stubborn as her mother, stood up again and looked innocently around the room. Plotting her grand escape once more.

"I'm sorry I won't be here for her birthday." Arthur whispered as he held her close and they watched the baby.

"She won't remember. You'll bring her back a nice present and she'll forgive you. Olivia never stays mad at you." Ariadne laughed as Olivia toddled on wobbly feet to the door again.

~ "Hello, Sir!" James cried running to the drive as Arthur left the house. Ariadne and Olivia behind him.

"Hello, James!" Arthur smiled as the little boy handed him a rough, well used leather ball.

"Can we play today? Phillipa didn't want to. She hates getting dirty now." The little boy complained.

Ariadne sighed as she watched Arthur and James.

Her husband had grown very fond of the little boy and she often found they had stolen away together to play ball or ride in the car.

A deep seed of jealousy nipped at her each time she saw them together. She knew Arthur was just being nice to the boy who's father was dead, and who hadn't even acknowledged him when he was alive. Arthur was always set on doing the honorable thing.  
"Arthur, your train." Ariadne reminded him as the boys looked to be having too much fun.

"James, I have to go away for a little while; but I'll be back in a month. I want you to look after the house while I'm gone. I'm depending on you." Arthur told him.

"Yes, sir." James said eagerly.  
"When is Maggie going to get a place in the village?" Ariadne asked Arthur as he kissed her goodbye.  
"I haven't really pressed the issue." Arthur said as he kissed Olivia who shouted at him and smiled.

"A month." Ariadne said sadly. "That's the longest we've ever been apart."  
"I know. I'll send you a telegram every week. Everyday if you like." He promised.

She smiled at him.  
"You'll miss your train." She said sadly.

Arthur nodded. Kissed her once more for luck and she watched the driver take him away from her.

~ Lady Percy sat in her parlor most days. She would look out her window and watch the disappearance of winter.

"My, what a pretty little girl!" Lady Percy exclaimed as Ariadne brought Olivia into the parlor. She didn't like for the old woman to be so all alone these days.  
"Thank you, Aunt Percy." Ariadne said with a smile. The older woman was much more pleasant since her illness.

"Is she yours?" Lady Percy asked.

"She is. Her name is Olivia."

"Oh she's precious. I have a little girl of my own. I have a doll to. Your little girl can't play with my doll though. I'm saving her for my own little girl." Lady Percy said with her vacant, empty smile.

Ariadne looked sadly at the old, tattered doll with the china face in the old woman's gnarled hands. Her hair worn away by time and her once pretty dress; dirty and ripped.

When Lady Percy came out of her fever, Ariadne had found the old doll and given it back to her. The old woman refused to be without it now.

"It's alright, Aunt Percy. We can save your doll for Rose." Ariadne said brightly.

"Yes, for my Rose. I could have taken her you know. My baby. I had a baby. She was always mine, you see. No matter what happens, she will always be mine." Lady Percy said.

"I know." Ariadne agreed. A pain in her heart at the idea of Lady Percy losing her olnly child.

"Missus?" Came a voice from the hall. Ariadne cast a worried look at her little escape artist and met Maura in the hall.

"What is it?" Ariadne asked her maid.  
"I'm sorry to bother you, missus." Maura said as Olivia toddled over to Lady Percy and gave the old woman a lecture in her baby talk. Lady Percy seemed to understand perfectly and told her: no, she didn't have any cookies.

"There is a telephone call for you, missus. From a gentleman in London." Maura explained.  
"What did he want?" Ariadne asked.  
"Well, he said it's a private matter and he isn't willing to discuss it with anyone but you, missus." Maura said sheepishly.

Ariadne sighed.  
"Can you watch those two?" she asked and Maura nodded.

~ Arthur had installed a phone line in his library to do business on and so she didn't have to go to the butler's office.

"This is Lady Ariadne Bradford." She said in her well practiced voice.

"Yes, madam." Came a nervous voice. "My name is Robert Fischer, I work at a special hospital here in London."

"We already have our charity plans for the year." Ariadne told him. Seeing right away where this was going.  
"No, you misunderstand. We have a friend of yours here; in the hospital. He goes by the name of Eames. He's been here for a while now and listed you as his only family." The man said.


	52. Chapter 52

2.

~ "Madam, are you certain you want to drive to London?" Miles asked worriedly. "Lord Bradford just left."

"I know." Ariadne sighed. "I'll be fine, I promise. It will only be a few days."  
"Allow Maura to com with you, or Maggie." the butler insisted.  
"No need. I want Maura to look after Olivia and Maggie will be needed here, I'm sure." Ariadne said as she finished packing a small suitcase.  
"Madam, I must insist Maggie go with you. She knows London very well and your husband would be understandably enraged if he discovered I allowed you to drive to Town all alone." Miles said.

The older gentleman looked ready to cry in frustration at his mistresses actions.

Ariadne rolled her eyes.

"Very well. Tell Maggie to pack a few things and meet me at the car. We can't waste anymore time." Ariadne said.

She felt things were moving too slowly since the phone call from this mysterious Robert Fischer.

All she knew was the Eames was in trouble, and he needed her help. She would prefer it if she could go to London alone. The fewer people who knew about this situation, the better. But Miles was right, she couldn't go to the city alone.

~ Maggie looked wind swept as she jumped into the car beside Ariadne.  
"I've never ridden in a car before, madam." the pretty red haired maid said.

"Well, it's a long trip." Ariadne said as she waved to Maura who was holding Olviia. Her heart panged her a little at leaving her daughter behind. She had never so much as gone a few hours without seeing Olivia.

~ "Might I ask why we're going to Town?" Maggie asked after a few hours of driving. Ariande had been very proud of herself. She had maneuvered the roads perfectly and anyone would think she was a natural behind the wheel.  
"My husband's cousin has taken ill. We are going to bring him back tot he house." Ariadne told her.  
"Well wouldn't Miles or one of the footmen be better suited for that?" Maggie asked. Her big blues eyes looking at Ariadne curiously.

Ariadne stiffened a little. She didn't want to explain to Maggie or anyone else about Eames.

"Maggie, when we get to London, you will stay outside the hospital. I will go in alone. This is a private family matter. Do you understand?"

"Of course, madam." Maggie said and looked at the road. The two women not speaking again till they reached Town.

~ Ariadne had misjudged how busy London was. Not only foot, bicycle and horse traffic, but cars barreled down the road without even stopping.

"Maggie, do you have any idea where the Fischer charity hospital is?" Ariadne asked as she tried to maneuver around a horse and buggy. The large gray huffing at the car as the two woman drove past.  
"Yes, ma'am." Maggie said. "It's near Whitechapel. It's not suitable for ladies to go." Maggie said.

"Well, that's where we're going." Ariadne stubbornly.

"Missus, let me go in with you. I swear to you it's not at all safe for you alone. Even in a hospital. A charity hospital like that is full of drunks and bad men." Maggie told her.

Ariadne was becoming worried as the cobbled streets teamed with people. All of whom crowded around the car.  
"Very well." Ariadne conceded at last.  
"Turn here. It will take us to High Street." Maggie said with a nod.

The streets morphed into dirty, rundown homes and store fronts. The public lighting was poor and Ariadne could smell a distinct tinge of raw sewage.

"Fischer Hospital is just up here." Maggie said.

"What about the car?" Ariadne asked as he noticed grimy men eying the fancy automobile enviously.

"We can ask an orderly to mind it." Maggie told her. "The car is the least of our worries, Ma'am. Best hide your jewelry now." She added.

Ariadne parked the car in front of a large dilapidated building that advertised it was the Fischer Charity Hospital.

"Stay here, with the door locked." Maggie said as she jumped out of the car and barked at a grubby, desperate looking man to back away. Her accent no longer sweet, but a rough loud voice that the people here respected.  
"Get out of here!" She shouted to the man again. The miserable man moved away from the car as Maggie vanished inside.

Ariadne took the chance to observe the people here. She remembered all that Eames had told her about the poor here. His article didn't do it justice. Children were too thin, they were dirty and ran around the streets with no shoes on.

She saw people who obviously slept on the streets each night watching the strange sight of a car in this place.

"Hello." came a chipper little voice.

Ariadne jumped at the sight of a dirty little girl with bright green eyes looking at her.  
"Hello." Ariadne mimicked back nervously.  
"Is this and automobile? Can you drive it?" the girl asked.

"Yes, I can." Ariadne said feeling shy around the thin child who's teeth were rotting and who had nothing but rags on. A sharp bruise to her face completed the picture of misery.

Yet the child didn't look at all unhappy. She looked at Ariadne with wonder and amazement, where the others of this street looked at her with fear and hatred.

"Would you like to buy an orange, miss?" The girl asked.

She held up a bright, ripened fruit and let Ariadne inspect it.  
"Oh... oh yes." Ariadne said and quickly handed the girl a few coins.

The child's eyes grew bright at the sight of so much money and she ran away from the car; leaving Ariadne alone with an orange.

"Missus?" Maggie said when she came back. "I've got an orderly to watch the car while we collect your Mr. Eames."

"Oh, thank you, Maggie." Ariadne said as came back to herself. She was still holding the fruit.  
"The orange sellers got to you I see." Maggie joked. "I sold all kinds of fruit and flowers myself when I was younger."

Ariadne shut her eyes and tried to banish the image of that poor, little girl from her mind.

~ The charity hospital was over crowded and smelled of horrible things. Gas lamps were lit, but it did nothing to sooth the dark, eeriness of the halls. There were men and women crowding the halls, waiting to be seen by doctors as the coughed up wretched things.

"Cover your mouth, miss." Maggie said handing her a handkerchief. "They have the TB."

~ "I started this charity hospital after my father passed away." A well groomed but very thin young man said to the two ladies as he walked with them from ward to ward. "I wanted to do something good and meaningful with my life. Not be just another rich man's son at a social ball.

"Very honorable." Ariadne admitted as she clutched Maggie's hand in a death grip. Grateful Miles had made her take the resourceful maid with her.

Ariadne had to hold her handkerchief to her nose as she walked past beds of men who had been sick on themselves.

"They're fighting delirium tremens. A withdrawal from alcohol. We take them in to dry them out. Sometimes it's very bad." Mr. Fischer explained. "It's one of the things we do here. Try and get them to stop drinking. The drink has it's hold on the people here, and sometimes won't let go."  
"Mr. Eames. We would like to see him, please." Ariadne insisted.

"He came to us about a month ago. Dropped off by the police. I was surprised he lived, to be honest. He was very ill and had been drinking heavily, which most likely caused the phenomena. He had been fighting at some pub. He was badly beaten, but still looking to fight. We had no idea who he was or if he had any family. It was only last week he gave us your name." Mr. Fischer said.

"Is he alright now?" Ariadne asked as they walked past a man who was shaking and crying.

"He will be. He will need some building up. I'm very glad you will be taking him home; we need the bed." Fischer said.

They left that horrible, smelly ward and came to a cleaner one.

There were men here who weren't sick all over the floors, but who looked too weak and worn down to do anything but wait to die.

"Here we are." Fischer said as they approached a bed.

Ariadne almost gasped at seeing Eames.

He looked like another person. Her friend had lost too much weight and he looked like he had been sick for a long time.

"Eames?" Ariadne gasped as she took his hand.  
Mr. Eames was breathing hard as he opened his eyes and stared curiously at her.  
"It's you." He breathed. "Have I finally died? I tried to die, but I keep failing at it."

"Eames, were taking you back home. Back to Blue Rivers. Right now." She told him as she unfolded his blankets.  
"Maggie, help me." She ordered as the two women helped him to stand.

Eames was much lighter then she remembered. She could feel the loss of all that muscle she admired so much from that summer day by the pond.  
"No point." Eames grumbled as Fischer called an orderly to help.

The orderly fetched a wheelchair for Eames to sit down in and prepared to wheel him out. Mr. Fischer explained the Eames was brought in with tattered clothing that could not be salvaged. He would have to leave in a hospital gown.

"No matter." Ariadne told him. She watched as the orderly loaded her friend into the car. Maggie was telling Eames, in no uncertain terms, he was not allowed to become sick in the car.  
"His lordship will be cross if you do, sir." Maggie said in that rough urban cadence she seemed to adopt only when she was here.

"Hello, miss." Came that chipper voice.

Ariadne turned to see the dirty little girl with the bright green eyes and the bruise on her face.

"Oh, hello." Ariadne said feeling a sharp pain of sadness at seeing her again.

"Would your friend like an orange?" She asked hopefully.  
"Yes, he would." Ariadne said and handed her more coins.

The girl handed her the fruit and promptly ran away again. Ariadne flinched as she saw the child was without shoes.

"Mr. Fischer, do you know that child?" She asked the thin young man who ran the hospital.

"That's Katie Wilder. Good little girl. Her mother passed away last year and her father is dead as well. She is taking care of her younger brother. They rent a room from Mrs. Wallets down the street." He explained.

"Does Mrs. Wallets look after them?" Ariadne asked.

"She's only their landlord." Fischer explained.

"Mr. Fischer, thank you so much for attending to my friend." Ariadne said as she removed a bank note for him. She gave it to him and he widened his eyes at the amount.

"Very generous of you madam." Fischer said and folded the note to go in his breast pocket.

"I know I have no right to ask you for more help, your work is very important, but is there anyway you can help that girl and her brother? Maybe send them to school?" Ariadne asked.

"They offer a training school for ladies maids and butlers in Town. It costs money to have them trained for service, but it would help them more then any schooling would. They would be provided room and board while they were taught to read and write. Provide the both of them with a skill."

"Mr. Fisher, I would happily pay for this schooling as well as send your hospital money each month, if you would personally see to it they could get into such a place. There will be work waiting for them in a fine home in the country as soon as they are ready." Ariadne told them.

Mr. Fischer gave her a sad little smile and nodded.

"Mr. Eames said you were an angel and I can see now he was right." The young man said.

"I'm no angle. I'm just a mother who can't stand to see a child suffer." Ariadne told him.  
"There are plenty of children who suffer, madam." Fischer said. "I'll make certain that Katie and her brother are off the streets and into service training before the day is over."  
"Please write to me at Blue Rivers when you have them placed. I want to know how they are doing." Ariadne told him as she gave him another note.  
"Yes, madam. Now please take your friend home. It's not safe for a lady like you to be here." He told her.

~ Ariadne started the car and Maggie yelled at a crowd to clear the road.

"Thank you, Maggie. I'm very glad you came with me." Ariadne said as she glanced nervously back at Eames. Her friend had fallen asleep in the back seat.

"That was very nice, what you're doing for that wretch of a girl." Maggie said.

"I can't stand to see a child like that. She didn't even have shoes." Ariadne told her.  
"I think the good Lord everyday your husband hired me to come back with my boy. I don't know where we would be without his kindness." She said.

The pretty, red haired maid looked at Ariadne.

"Or yours." She added.


	53. Chapter 53

3.

~ It was too late in the day to try and return to Blue Rivers. Ariadne decided to rent a room at a hotel in Town and leave in the morning.

Eames started to have a bout of shaking he couldn't control.

"It's from the drink, ma'am." Maggie said. "I've seen it before."

Eames let out a groan as the two women helped him to bed.  
"Maggie, run a hot bath. I'll give you some money, and I want you to buy some clothes for him to wear." Ariadne said as she tried to get Eames to sit up.

"Why did you come back for me?" Eames complained as he focused his unsteady eyes on Ariadne.  
"What was I supposed to do? Leave you there? You're lucky that Mr. Fischer took you in. You could have died." She snapped at him as Maggie ran a tub full of hot water.  
"I wanted to die. I wanted to die like a dog in the streets." Eames said bitterly.

"Why?" Ariadne asked as she helped him to stand.  
"You don't care for me." He said pitifully.

She looked worriedly at Maggie, who carefully excused herself from the room.

Ariadne helped Eames to the tub for a bath, and slid off his hospital gown.

She was shocked to see his body had changed so much. Half healed or poorly healed scars littered his body. A road map of self loathing and abuse. Gone was the tanned, well built man from that day at the pond. His body looked ravaged and older now.  
"Oh Eames." She whispered as her fingers grazed over a roughly healed scar on his once flawless chest.

"I never said I didn't care for you, Mr. Eames. I'm here now, aren't I?" She whispered as she helped him into the tub.

"What does your husband say about you coming to get me?" Eames asked as he relaxed in the hot water. Steam curling over his body as she stated to wash away the smell of the charity hospital.

"Arthur is in New York. There was a strike in a few factories and he has to attend to it. He left this morning." Ariadne told him.

She dipped a sponge into the water, ran a bar of clean smelling soap over it and started to wash Eames' back and chest. He allowed her to clean him and wash his hair. He even let her cut and trim the scraggly beard off his face.

"You'll have to go to a barber in the morning." She told him. "Get a proper shave and cut all this long hair off your head."

"You don't like the beard?" Eames asked with a little smile.  
"No. You'll feel better, more like yourself, once it's gone." She told him.

She had been kneeling beside the tub as her friend relaxed in the scented water.  
"Eames, promise me you'll never do this again. I would have been heart broken if you had died." She told him.

"Would you?" Eames asked as she rinsed out all the soap from his too long hair.

"Of course I would have." She told him.

"After you told me to leave, I thought you didn't really love me." Eames whispered as she washed under his arms and made another pass at cleaning his scarred chest.  
"I never said I didn't love you, stupid." She said with a laugh. "I just... I don't want you. Not like that."

"Yet, you came to get me. You could have left me to rot on the streets. It would have been more convenient."

"Nothing in my life is convenient, Mr. Eames. Why should you be any different?" She teased.

Eames smiled and gazed at her. His hand leaving the cocoon of warm water and touching her hair.  
"I almost forgot how lovely you are." He whispered.

"Eames." She said and pulled his hand away from her face.

She collected herself.  
"Maggie is getting you something to wear. They had to throw away your clothes, they were so ragged." Ariadne told him.  
"I kept your picture in my breast pocket." Eames said.  
"What picture?"

"When you were expecting Olivia, last Christmas. I took a picture of you. Kept it with me all through Asia and when I left again. I guess it got thrown out." Eames explained.

Ariadne didn't know what to say to this.

Eames looked troubled.  
"I'm ready to get out." he said and suddenly found the strength to stand out of the water.

Ariadne wasn't ready to see him so totally naked and hadn't time enough to divert her eyes away from the sudden exposure to the raw maleness of her friend.  
"Mr. Eames." She said, getting to her feet and turning away.  
"I'm tired. I need to sleep." He complained.

Ariadne tried to fight the blush that was coming to her cheeks.

"We have a room ready for you." She said handing him a towel.

"Ariadne? I don't want to sleep alone." He said as he begrudgingly took the towel from her and wrapped it around his hips.  
"Eames." She breathed out.  
"I'm scared to be alone. Just stay with me. Nothing will happen. I'm too sick for any of that. You told me you don't want me. That's fine, but don't make me sleep alone in a strange place." He said pitifully.

"Mr. Eames." She started to say as he stepped out of the bath water and was still shaking.

Her heart broke at the sight of him. He was so thin and needed good food and time to heal. His body was scared and bruised. He looked like he hadn't slept very well for a long time and it was clear he was in no shape to be her lover tonight.

"Alright." She agreed.

~ Maggie returned an hour later with a serviceable pair of pants, shirt, jacket and shoes.

"Had to guess at the size. Might be too big. Better too big then too small." She explained.

"Thank you, Maggie." Ariadne said as she took the carrier bag into Eames' room.

"Miss?" the maid questioned.  
"Mr. Eames is not feeling well. I'm going to attend to him tonight. You get some sleep. We're going to go back home in the morning." Ariadne told her.

"Miss, are you sure you don't want me to see to him? I've taken care of the sick before." Maggie offered.

"No, Maggie. He trusts me." Ariadne snapped.

She didn't want to explain about her and Eames to the maid.

~ Eames was waiting for her in his bed.

He had cast off the towel on the floor and watched her strip to her underthings from his spot in bed.

"All this time of fantasizing about this moment, and I can hardly keep my eyes open to enjoy it." Eames said as she crossed the room, picked up his errant towel, and carefully climbed into bed with him.

She flushed hot as her eyes betrayed her and she caught a gimps of him, naked, in their bed.

Eames suddenly chuckled.  
"I'm far to weak to trifle with you, darling." Eames said.  
"I wish you wouldn't call me that." Ariadne whispered as she folded the heavy coverings over herself and Eames.  
"Why not?" He asked.  
"It's what Arthur and I agreed he would call me." She explained.

"_Agreed?_" Eames laughed.

She turned to him questioningly.

"I'm sorry. I still have difficulty understanding this marriage you have." He told her.

She moved away from him slightly. Making sure their bodies didn't touch.

"You have to agree upon endearments." He added. "Do you still have your own rooms?"

"No. Arthur and I are hoping for another baby." She told him.  
Eames said nothing.

"How... how is Olivia?" He asked with some difficulty.

"Into mischief." Ariadne said as she suddenly missed her daughter very much. "She's walking now."

"I can't wait to see her." Eames said. "How is Aunt Percy? The old bat still giving you trouble?"

Ariadne sighed.

"Lady Percy had a fever right after you left. She was sick for a long time. We didn't think she would make it. She recovered, but her mind is gone. The doctor called is senility. She thinks she's a little girl again." Ariadne explained.

Eames said nothing.

"I'm sorry, Ariadne. Sorry you had to deal with that." He said at last. "Aunt Percy isn't yours or Arthur's burden."

Ariadne didn't respond. She stared up at the ceiling for a long time. She was about to ask him what he had been doing in the time he had been away when a soft snore floated up.

Mr. Eames was already asleep.


	54. Chapter 54

4.

~ "She's gotten so big." Eames gasped as they arrived at their conservatory.

Ariadne felt her heart rise up at seeing her daughter again. It had only been a day, but she missed her more then anyone, even Arthur. Her baby felt perfect and right in her arms as she held her.

Olivia gave her that same imperious look before surveying the room at her new height.

"Yes, she's walking now. Arthur and I are expecting her to start talking any day." She said proudly.

Eames looked a little winded from his walk around the house. Just the trek from the driveway to the conservatory seemed too much for him.

He sat down in his wickerwork chair; overly exhausted.

"I remember when you could carry me, heavily pregnant, out of this house and to the hospital." Ariadne said. Remembering the night she had escaped from Mrs. Abbot. "You were my hero that night."

"I was a different man back then." Eames admitted.

She felt ashamed of herself for bringing it up as Olivia wiggled rebelliously on her lap.

The baby wanted to investigate Mr. Eames. A determined scowl was on her face.

"I know it's not possible, but she looks a lot like Arthur just now." Eames laughed as Olivia escaped her mother and toddled over to Eames. Looking him over as if he were an interesting, and perhaps dangerous, sort of animal.

"Well, Arthur loves her like she was his." Ariadne told him as Olivia wanted to crawl on Eames' lap now.

She watched as her friend easily picked up the baby and the infant ran a chubby hand over his face; now free of the beard.

"Eames, were going to make sure you eat properly, and get better." Ariadne told him.

"What would your husband say about you keeping me here? Or would you prefers to hide me?" Eames laughed as he kissed Olivia's hand.

"I'm not going to hide you. You've done nothing wrong. I don't need Arthur's permission or blessing to take care of my friend." Ariadne said.

Eames gave her a knowing look.

"Ariadne." He said at last. "You don't have to be with Arthur just because he gives you financial security. I know you think you don't have a lot of options."

"Eames," Ariadne sighed. She wasn't ready to have this same argument again.

"I have money now." he interrupted. "Arthur convinced me to buy stock in Ford as well as his own company. They've done _very_ well in less then a year. I'm not as well off as he is, but I can provide for you and Olivia."

"Eames, I love Arthur." Ariadne said firmly. "I'm his wife and I'm staying with him."

"You don't have to stay with him. If you're worried that he would take Olivia away-"

"Eames!" Ariadne snapped.  
Her friend shook his head. He wasn't listening to her.

"You came to get me. You pulled me out of that hell. You can't feel _nothing_ towards me." He said.

"Eames, I feel nothing toward you but friendship." She said in a whisper.

"You stayed in the same bed with me. That was the happiest night I had in years." He told her.

"Nothing happened." She laughed.

"This time." He said with a mischievous smile.

~ Arthur hadn't enjoyed his trip to America very much. He had gotten violently sea sick and had to spend most of the trip ill, and in his cabin. The normal luxury cruise liners were suddenly no where to be found for his transatlantic crossing. And he had to make do with a second class style cabin on a less grand vessel.

~ Arriving at New York, he found the city had changed drastically in the year and a half he had been gone.

"Woman's suffrage marches, strikes at factories, you name it." Cobb was saying as his friend met him at the docks. "It's all a far cry from Blue Rivers."

Arthur looked at the parade of women marching the streets with banners demanding the vote.

"You should have been here last night. They didn't even get the chance to march before the police beat them and threw them in jail." Cobb told him.

"The police are throwing women in jail?" Arthur asked.

He was grateful Ariadne was safe at home. Surely she would be the first to jump into the protests to vote.

"Yes, and these are middle class women with husbands and social standing. It's been terrible. I think they're very brave." Cobb told him.

"Tell me about the strikes." Arthur grumbled as he watched a group of men throw rotting vegetables at the women marching for the right to vote.

"I think the main problem is the amount of work. The rumblings of war and all." Cobb explained. "I also think you need to look at acquiring a factory in Canada."

"Why?" Arthur asked as they drove past a large group of police. Most likely going after the protesting women.

"It went bankrupt and we can buy it for a song. We can fit it to serve our needs and reopen it in less then two months." Cobb said proudly.

Arthur felt his anger rise up.  
"Cobb, I have no intention of staying here a few _months_. I plan to settle this strike business and go back home. I'm already missing my daughter's first birthday. I've had a miserable crossing here, and I'm anxious to return to my wife." he snapped.

"Arthur, England and Germany are demanding more parts that our factory provides. We would be fools to not invest." Cobb argued.

"I want to get this strike settled and go back home." Arthur said curtly.

~ The factories were in good repair, but Arthur could see why the strikes were happening. The work load was monstrous. Even the hardened foremen were overwhelmed.

"Sir," The foreman said. "We need to open another factory. Hire more workers. That would ease the strife. Also, we have unions who are causing a lot of trouble. Saying the works can't work 80 hour weeks without some kind of incentive pay, and we can't employ anyone under the age of fifteen. Unfortunately, the laws are changing."

Arthur sighed as he could hear rallying cries from angry workers on the streets below.

** Ariadne,**

** Things are worse here then I was lead to believe.**

** I'm not sure when I'll be able to come home. **

** It may be as late as May.**

** I'm very sorry.**

** I'll try to come home to you soon. **

** Arthur**

~ Ariadne read and re-read the telegram from Arthur.

Another few months without him home? She sighed as Eames tried to talk to Lady Percy.

"Aunt, it's me, Eames." He said as the old woman clutched her old doll and looked ready to cry. "I'm Juniper's son, remember?"

"Eames." Ariadne scolded gently and shook her head.

Lady Percy was too far gone to recognize him.

In just a weeks time, Mr. Eames had started to recover. Like the approaching spring, he seemed to grow rich with health again.

He had gained weight and looked as if some demons no longer haunted him.

"Is everything alright with Arthur?" He asked.

"He will be in America for another few months." Ariadne sighed.

Eames did nothing to hide the delight on his face.

"That's too bad." he said.


	55. Chapter 55

**Part **

** XII**

** The Waiting**

_Blue Rivers_

_ May, 1914_

~ Ariadne read through Robert Fischer's latest letter on Katie and her brother. He even included a photograph of the two children in their uniforms at their training school.

"What's that about?" Eames asked as Olivia sat possessively on his lap. The little girl had taken an intense liking to Mr. Eames and rarely wanted to be apart from him.

"While you were at the charity hospital, I saw this little girl selling oranges. I asked Mr. Fischer to help them, and I would cover the costs. He instilled them at a school that will train them for service." Ariadne explained showing him the photograph that came with the letter.

Eames looked at the picture for a long time.  
"Very nice of you to help those children." Eames said with a little smile.

"Mr. Fischer says they are doing well and hopefully they will be able to write to me soon." Ariadne told him.  
"Will you and Arthur hire them?" Eames asked as Olivia let out a giggle.

"Perhaps. I won't lie that I think the girl would be a good ladies maid to Phillipa when the time comes. They're close to the same age." Ariadne explained.

Eames nodded.

"What about the war? What if it changes things and there is no more room from things like ladies maids and butlers?" He asked.

"I doubt very much the world will change that much." Ariadne laughed.

"You don't?" Eames asked. "All this time, I thought you were smarter then that."

Ariadne felt challenged. A growing habit when she was around her friend.

"Mr. Eames, no war can change _everything_. Not even the Greeks could destroy the world. Arthur plans to take us to New York as soon as Lady Percy is gone." She told him.

"You never told me you were leaving Blue Rivers." Eames said with a scowl.

Ariadne looked to her friend.

"We've had to put it off for awhile now, but I'm not sure how long we will stay." She admitted sadly.

Eames gently put Olivia onto the floor and the baby wandered around the conservatory.

"When were you going to tell me about this?" He asked.

She shrugged and avoided his eyes. Concentrating on Olivia playing with her toys.

The past few months with Eames back at Blue Rivers had been wonderful. He put his weight back on and the two of them talked endlessly of current events, the war and books. Mr. Eames was quick to return to his writing, and Ariadne had been able to work on her stories as well. She never felt creative around Arthur. Never felt like her imagination had been roused like a sleeping dragon.

But their time was coming to an end. Arthur would not stand for Eames to continue living at Blue Rivers once he returned.  
"Arthur will be home in a week. He had to set up a new factory in Canada and is taking a ship back." She told Eames meekly.

"I see." He said.

"I'm sorry, Eames." She said weakly.  
"No matter. If the war comes, I think I'll go to Australia if I don't take National Geographic up on their offer of war correspondence." He told her.

"You won't enlist?" She asked in disbelief.

"I don't approve of the cause. War isn't the solution. All this is about is a bunch of muck racking bullies. We're going to throw our young men into a death pit because someone else is too afraid to fight for themselves? Makes no sense." He told her.

"Eames." She said. Ready to give him all the reasons why it was his duty to fight.

"Arthur won't go to war either. That's why he's taking you back to America." Eames said with a shrug.

"Eames, we're Americans. Our country isn't going to get involved in this war."

"I thought England was your country now." Eames said thoughtfully.

They said nothing for a while. The pair of them dueling with their eyes.  
"What ship will Arthur be on? I need to know when I have to clear off." he said at last.

"No one is making you leave, Eames. This is your home to."

"You haven't telegraphed your husband that I'm here." He observed, and she blushed.

Eames laughed.

"No, of course you haven't. You won't let me bed you, and yet, you don't want to get rid of me." he said.

"Eames!"

Ariadne looked nervously around the room. They were alone except for Olivia. Phillipa was off playing with James and the servants knew well enough to leave the two of them alone while they were in the conservatory.

"Arthur will come back, you'll have a baby together." He looked her up and down. Her waist as slender as ever. "Hopefully. And I'll be gone. Never to return."

They sat in silence as she looked over Robert Fischer's letter.

"So what ship will your husband be on?" Eames asked at last.  
"_The Empress of Ireland_. He should be home by the first part of June." She told him softly.

**Google _The Empress of Ireland_ (evil laughter)**


	56. Chapter 56

2.

_Quebec City_

_ Empress of Ireland_

_ May 28th, 1914_

~ Arthur neatly arranged four of the popular teddy bears on his dresser top. A floor walker at an over priced toy shop in New York had convinced him to buy them for the children back home. They were all alike and Arthur still wasn't sure how to shop for children. Because the verity of teddy bears was so small, the shop lady put ribbons around each bears neck to signify who would receive it. Pink ribbons for Phillipa and Olivia, and a bright blue for James' bear. He didn't want the little boy to feel left out upon his return; even if he was only the son of the day maid.

The last bear had a white ribbon tired around the neck. The shop lady asked if it was for a new baby, to which Arthur was forced to tell her it was for a 'hopeful' new addition.

Cobb had arranged passage aboard the _Empress of Ireland; _and Arthur wasn't impressed. Despite her grand title, the _Empress_ wasn't nearly as luxurious as _Mauritania_.

However, Arthur was willing to rough it if it could mean getting back home to his family.

It had been a difficult few months in America. The strikes were finally over and Arthur had weather the ordeal very well.

The negotiations had required a drastic reworking of how they hired people, and how long any factory could work a person. Arthur had visited Ford's factory, talked to Henry Ford himself and found that even the immigrants, who could work sixteen hour days seven days a week were protesting.

So, Arthur was the first to capitulate to this five day work week. He gave into better pay and no longer employed children under fifteen.

He was instantly rewarded with his leap of faith. All the striking workers came back, as well as a flood of new employes. The re-structuring provided a leap over his competitors as they were still struggling with the union.

So much so that Arthur had bought out a factory in New York, and over saw it's conversion and assimilation into his fleet. He also bought the ailing factory in Canada that employed over three hundred people. All of whom were grateful their jobs had been saved.

New York itself had drastically changed. Everywhere there were cars now. It was no longer a novelty but a normalcy to see a car speed carelessly across a busy street.

Every restaurant, barber shop and factory floor spoke of the approaching war and something even more menacing; prohibition.

Arthur was exhausted and spent. He had been in a foul mood since Cobb saw him off on the _Empress,_ and wanted to be left alone until this plain barge, called a ship, landed in Liverpool.

He hadn't bothered to change out of his traveling clothes as he laid in bed and tried to unwind. He could feel the Empress shift out of her port and move easily into the Canadian waters. Just a few more days until he would be home.

He could see it now. The inky blueness of the rivers. The tall, elegant house with it's warm wooden floors and stairs. Phillipa and James running around the grounds.

Ariadne. Yes, Ariadne would be holding Olivia and the two of them would be waiting in the driveway for him to come home. Maybe Olivia would be talking now. She had been wanting to say Daddy for a long time now. He couldn't wait to hear it.

He would give Olivia her bear, his daughter would give him an uncertain look before taking it. His pretty wife would laugh and then her heart would melt as he presented her with the last bear. The white ribbon around it's neck.

He was hoping for a new baby. Olivia had been so good for them. She cleared up the politeness about their relationship. They were no longer people who were just married, they were a family.

He thought briefly about retrieving the silver framed photograph from his bag. He had lovingly placed it on his night table in every hotel he had stayed at.

But Arthur was too tired to even change out of his suit, let alone dig through his bags for a picture. He had fallen asleep looking at it for months now. He knew it by heart.

He let out a long sigh and thought about how he had met Jeffery.

~ It wasn't a planned trip. Cobb wanted to show him a possible sight for a new factory in Philadelphia. Arthur's curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he tracked down the school Ariadne had worked.

Pretending to inquire about a place for Phillipa, he was given a tour of the school. It was indeed just the place to instruct well mannered girls. All of the teenage girls more giggly and stupid than anything Arthur had seen before. They ran around the main building in frilly lace dresses with garish puffed sleeves. All of them well on their way to becoming snobbish house wives of some old businessman.

Arthur spotted Jeffery in the teacher's lounge. It could only be Jeffery. There was no mistaking Olivia's dark honey colored hair and facial expressions. They were the same of this young man.

He could see why Ariadne had been so attracted to him. He was handsome and tall. He wasn't so very young, but had a playfulness about him.

Arthur was tempted to go and talk to him. Explain how he and his wife, _Ariadne_, were planning to send their ward Phillipa here. How they were living in a grand estate in England and how, this school, might not be good enough.

Yes, surely that would be a fine revenge. Jeffery no doubt thought his former lover was living in the gutters with their bastard child. Not instilled as mistress of a fine home.

The thought had so delighted him, he took a step in the young man's direction. He stopped when he saw a pretty young school teacher come to sit next to him. Arthur could tell right away that they were lovers. In the relative privacy of the teacher's sitting room, they thought they were not noticed. But Arthur saw the young woman curl up close to him. Her eyes bright with infatuation.

Jeffery laughed at her and patted her hip before kissing her.

How unfair it all was. Ariadne had been cast out of society for being with a man she had loved, and he wasn't punished at all. Ariadne was humiliated, orphaned and forced to resort to marrying a total stranger to survive. Jeffery, however, kept his position at the school and most likely was absent from the entire scandal. How many lovers he had taken? How many children were running around this world who he had fathered?

Jeffery was irresponsible and chasing his long gone youth. He seduced young women with promises of a life with him, when he had no intention of leaving his wife.

Arthur could not be more different. Where Jeffery was no doubt romantic and charming, Arthur was practical and demanding. Yet, it was Arthur who was in possession of a good wife and lovely family. Jeffery had seduced and used Ariadne; only to throw her away. Labeling her a whore and slut. Someone to be shunned forever.

Arthur turned away from the kissing couple. Let Jeffery have his silly conquests. Arthur was the superior man who didn't need revenge.

~ Arthur woke up some hours later thinking the Empress had docked in Liverpool and he had slept the entire way back to England.

He had been exhausted enough to do just that.

His body was still tired as he tried to think about what had woken him up.

A loud fog horn let out its low, bellow again. That was what had woken him.

Arthur was in the first class cabin on the starboard side when he was jerked out of sleep. He took out his pocket watch; the same one that had belonged to his father. It was past midnight.

He sighed and decided he was hungry enough to get something to eat.

Blue Rivers had spoiled him. He was used to ringing a bell and getting what he wanted. The ship was different. They had scheduled dinning times an the kitchen staff was in bed at this time of night.

A grouchy steward had all but told him off for missing dinner and wanting something to eat this late.

Arthur let it go as he decided to walk the boat deck. The sounds of the fog horn would keep him awake all night anyway.

He immediately saw why the fog horns were going off. The visibility of the railing was next to nothing.

He had to squint to even see three feet in front of him.

"Awful night, sir!" an officer in a dark blue sea coat said as he came to stand beside him. "I suppose the fog horn woke you."

"It did." Arthur grumbled as the fog horn let out a loud groan again.

"Sorry about that. It's a precaution we have to take. Too much fog. That's why we have all our lights lit up and the horn going off. So we can advertise to the world where we are." The officer said.

"Sensible." Arthur agreed. He pulled his jacket on a little tighter. Even for May, it was still chilly.

"Right sensible." The officer said churlishly. "After _Titanic_, we got hit hard with new regulations. See all the life boats? Weren't there before the sinking. We have water tight doors, same as Titanic, and we won't hesitate to put the people in the boats."

"Good to hear. I have faith we will arrive in Liverpool safely, sir." Arthur said.

"IF we ever get clear of this fog." the officer said. Arthur had wanted to leave, go back to his cabin and get warm, but the officer kept talking.

"Were still close to land, St. Lawrence River, that's why. We don't have that many passengers. Going from America only takes home visiting relatives and missionary workers. When we leave from Liverpool, we'll have twice as many steerage passengers crammed into this old girl." the officer grumbled.

The officer talked endlessly and Arthur wasn't listening. His gaze had found lights. Were they lights of a town? A light house maybe?

The officer had seen them to. Arthur could tell by his panic that the lights were nothing so mundane as a town or light house.

The officer ran to a nearby bell and rang three, sharp rings. The fog horn let out a loud protest that was like a scream as Arthur watched, in muted horror, the bow of another ship cut itself free of the fog and hit them.


	57. Chapter 57

3.

~ Arthur felt the teeth jarring force of the collision, heard the grinding of metal on metal, but he still didn't believe it.

He watched in wide eyed wonderment as men were shouting all around him.

"We're hit! We're hit!" came cries from along the deck.

Arthur watched in fascinated horror as the bow of the offending ship turned away from the Empress and vanished in the fog.

"Sir!" The officer was shouting at him. "Sir!"

Arthur was shaken roughly out of his trance by the officer who had talked to him most of the night.

"Sir, we have to get the life boats in the water! We need your help!"

Arthur was nodding and started to blindly follow the orders of the men around him.

Lowering the life boats was as simple enough task. There was a special hitch that sent the heavy wooden boats free falling in the water. On the starboard side, where the other ship struck them, Arthur noticed the deck was tilting.

"She's lisping already!" another sailor shouted.

Arthur risked peering over the deck. A horrible gash was cut into the Empress. Water was flooding in.

"The people below?" he asked the officer and the men worked with frantic pace.

"No, sir! Don't go below!" The officer said.

"They'll drown!" Arthur shouted as he was about to leave the deck and try and save the people there. Remembering how the women and children in third class on _Titanic_ had died because they were not allowed to come up.

The officer grabbed him roughly. His beady eyes staring him down.  
"You saw the gash in her, sir. Those people are already drowned! _They're lost_!" He growled.

Arthur stepped away from the officer as the deck started to slant even more.

"These boats will be useless, sir!" a man was shouting as Arthur noticed a few curious passengers wander out onto the boat deck.

"What's happened? Have we run aground?" A woman asked as she was holding her little girl.  
"Ma'am, get in the boat!" Arthur snapped at her as more confused passengers came out onto the boat deck.

"Is this all there is?" came a shout from a sailor as the men, women and only one child were lowered into the life boat.

Arthur looked at the gash again and found the water had taken the ship further into the sea. Hiding forever the wound that would kill the _Empress_.

Everything happened so quickly then. The ship started to roll on her side. Water filling the _Empress' _body till Arthur, the passengers and the other officers on deck instinctively made their way to the port side.

More launching of life boats as women and children were now on deck and screaming. The sudden tilt of the ship making the remaining lifeboats useless.

"Get into the boats!" the officer was screaming as Arthur first put a little girl and boy into the boats and tried to follow the rules of women and children first.

"No time for that, sir!" the officer shouted. "She's going down fast!"

Then, a jolt as the Empress felt like she had hit something. She seemed to rest on her wounded and bleeding side.

Everyone, save for a few children crying were silent. Waiting for whatever would happen next. None of them dared to speak.  
"I think we hit a sand bar." The officer said as he and Arthur clung to the railing. Arthur nodded as he watched a poor young woman hold her infant closer. The baby was no older then Olivia.

'_They won't make it._' Arthur thought suddenly. '_That baby is too young, the girl is too scared. No one had time to put their life jackets on. They won't make it.'_

"Please God, let it be a sand bar we're resting on." The officer said as the crowd of now hundreds waited to live or die.

A sandbar would be a lucky break, they could camp out on it till they were rescued. It would be an amazing story to tell Olivia and when she was older.

_'Olivia, daddy lost your teddy bear when the Empress of Ireland was hit, then he had to stay the night holding onto a railing because the ship tipped over and then ran aground.' _

A woman shirked as Arthur felt the shift happen. Felt the body of the _Empress_ give one last gasp of life and die. The water rising up to meet them.

It was over so quickly, Arthur didn't even get his head wet as he let go of the railing and swam away from the death rattle of the ship. The water was bone jarring cold. It bit him over and over until his skin grew numb. He wasn't used to swimming. He had always swam half naked in warm lakes and shallow rivers. This might as well have been the ocean. He couldn't reach the bottom and for once, he hated his heavy clothing and shoes weighing him down.

He could barely make out the sight of white life boats huddled together a few yards away.

He was already so tired, his body hurt, and it would have been easier to just stop swimming and give into the cold depths that wanted to claim him.

"Over here!" A man was crying. "Get the ores out! Get them out now!"

Arthur wasn't sure how he was able to keep swimming as he reached the little boats. He could still hear shouting and screams behind him. There were still people in the water.

"Help him up! Get them in! You there! We're going back! Get the move on we have women and children in the water!"

~ Arthur still hadn't reached the boats. His body was giving up. His last thoughts were of Ariadne. That she was holding Olivia on the deck of the sinking ship and he knew they would die. Knew they would all die.

~ Ariadne opened a telegram at Blue Rivers. It was, no doubt, another note from Arthur saying that he would be delayed another week.

She briefly thought of how angry she was at him for putting his business life ahead of his family. He had been gone well over the two months he had promised and now he would find something else that would delay him even more.

She read over the telegram and didn't understand it.

It wasn't from Arthur at all, but from the director of the phone hub in the village.

**Lady Bradford,**

** Just came over the wires this morning.**

** _Empress of Ireland_ was struck by a passing ship. **

** She sank with massive loss of life.**

** No word of Lord Bradford yet.**

** Please come to my office for more information.**

**Theodora Winters, director of telephone services, Blue Rivers Village. **

Ariadne re-read it. It didn't make any sense.

Her body started to shake.  
"Missus?" Maura was saying as her maid sounded very far away.

"Ariadne?" Eames' voice reached her.

Ariadne felt like she was in a cave. A dark cave or perhaps a well. Yes, she was in a well and Eames and Maura was above, looking down at her trapped in the well, asking if she was alright and she couldn't answer them.

She felt her mind fog over and her legs go weak. She knew nothing more.


	58. Chapter 58

4.

~ Ariadne looked over Olivia's face curiously. Her daughter, ever the old woman in a baby's body, looked back at her with her own large, brown eyes.

"I'm worried about your daddy." She whispered to Olivia. The infant seemed to understand, and thought it best to stay quite and listen to her mother's worries.  
"I'm scared he drowned on that ship. I'm scared we won't see him again and you'll never know how much he loved you." she whispered.

Olivia listened and finally turned her intelligent face to her mother, as if to say:

'_I know he loved me, silly._'

Ariadne laughed. She couldn't help it.

She had woken up in her own bed, later learning that Eames had carried her to her room after she had fainted. When she woke, Maura was there, but Ariadne only wanted Olivia.

Maura had confirmed that Arthur's ship had indeed gone down off of Canada. Ariadne had hoped she only dreamed it. That she had dreamed some silly dream of Arthur dieing when really he was downstairs working in the library and most likely cross at her for giving money to Robert Fischer's charity hospital.

But reality hit her as soon as Maura reminded her of the telegram. Eames had gone into town to find out if she was a widow or not.

Ariadne played with Olivia's small hands and perfect nails.

"We wanted another baby. A brother for you. Now, your daddy has left me all alone and I don't have anything that was his." She whispered to Olivia.

"_You have me. I was more his then anything else, don't you agree?_' Olivia scowled at her.

Ariadne laughed through her tears.  
"Yes, darling. You were." She told her daughter.

~ Eames returned a few hours later. Ariadne was still in bed with Olivia.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he sat on a little chair beside her bed. Out of respect for Arthur, she had kept herself and Olivia off of his side of the bed.

"What news of the sinking?" Ariadne asked as she played with Olivia's toes distractedly.

'_Alright, mama. I'll entertain you. You get bored so easily, and there is nothing better then my toes to entertain._'

"The Empress of Ireland was struck by another vessel some time after midnight. It's damage was such that there was very little time to get passengers and crew off. Less then half an hour they say. Fourteen hundred and seventy seven people were on board. Only four hundred and sixty five have been picked up." Eames told her.

'_It's okay, mama. I'm here._'

Ariadne tried not to cry.  
"Arthur?" She whispered.

Eames waited a long time as Ariadne played with Olivia's feet.

"I'm afraid they haven't released his name yet. They are processing the accident right now. We may not know anything for certain for a few days." He said.

"He would have contacted us by now if he had been picked up." Ariadne sniffed.

She tired to picture Arthur's face that last time she saw him. Leaving Blue Rivers; the way he had asked if she had any good news for him before he left on his trip.

"Ariadne, we don't know anything for certain. We can't assume anything yet. It was four days before we found out Phillipa was safe. We mustn't give up hope." Eames told her.

"Phillipa was a little girl who was afraid to talk and who was all alone. Arthur is a grown man." Ariadne sniffed.

"Ariadne," Eames said moving close to her. "I want you to know that no mater what happens, you and Olivia will always have a home here."

She sniffed as it occurred to her; with Arthur gone, Eames was the new owner of this house.

"You can live here till you're both old and gray. In fact, I would prefer it if you did; what with Phillipa and Lady Percy, I need your help. Widow or not, you will have a home here."

"Thank you, Eames." Ariadne sniffed. Olivia looked at her worriedly. "I hope it won't come to that."

~ The boats had no choice but to row to the ship that had done the damage to them. It was a freighter where the crew spoke almost no English.

"It happened so fast!" A crew man was saying. "She sank in lest then twenty minutes; did you see? _Titanic_ took hours. Or so the papers say."

"I thought the ship had run aground. They way it stayed on it's side like that for so long." Another man was saying. "It thought it might not sink at first."

The survivors were shivering in the cold as they were hoisted up to the boat deck.

"Only four children? Are you sure?" A frantic woman was asking.

"There were dozens of children on board. Only four made it off?"

"Yes, one little girl seems to have lost both her parents."

"This is so awful!"

"My husband. My husband!" A young woman cried. "I can't find him. Please, is there another boat? Is there another list?"

The passengers and crew were huddled on the boat deck as rescue ships arrived and cast light over the still waters where the _Empress_ went down.

There was plenty of floating debris, but very few bodies.

"Because they didn't have time to put on life vests." One young man, a crew member, was saying. "When I was on _Titanic_, all the bodies floated even though they were dead; because of those vests. It was eerie when Mr. Lowe made us go back for them. All those dead people in the water, just floating."

"You shut your hole there, Mr. Tower!" An officer barked.

A man with a clip board was taking names.

"Are all of you crew members?" He asked the group of men who were dressed in dark blue woolen coats signifying they worked for the liner and were not passengers.

"I think so. Are we going back to Canada?"

"New York. Doctors will see you and get this mess sorted out." The man with the clip board said. "Well get your names as soon as we land."

"Now that's typical." One of the crew members said as they passed a cigarette around. "Even in tragedy, it's the passengers first. Think these fine folks won't want their money back after all this?"

The surviving crew men had formed a tightly knit group as they stayed well away from the surviving passengers and other crew.

"Has anyone seen Sammy yet?" One man asked.

"No, he was in the boiler room. Drowned, I'm sure."

"At least it was quick. At least he didn't know what hit him."

"He's got a wife and five kids at home, right?"

"Don't you worry, after this, the fat cats who run this outfit will pay her well."

"Hum. I might look her up then."

There was some laughter, but it wasn't enthusiastic.

"Well, at least we're alive. We can go home to out girls and make love to them till their legs fall off."

The men all nodded and laughed in agreement.

~ The best place to make port after the disaster was Ellis island. The crew men stayed together, like animals who needed one another for protection against a world who didn't care about them. They were viewed as dirty and uneducated workmen who were there for manual labor and nothing more.

These men were questioned, but their names weren't taken down until a doctor examined them.

"No, sir. I never saw the ship that did it. I know we were blowing the fog horn and we were lit up."

"I saw the ship that hit us. Came out of the fog. Barring down on us. No time to pull away."

"The fog horn woke me up. I went out on deck to talk to an officer. The ship came out of the fog and struck us on the starboard side."

The doctor looked at the crew member critically. He had grown used to the rough cadence and varied accents of the crew men. This man, defiantly American and from New York, to hear him speak, didn't have the same jargon of the uneducated crew he was with.

The man was young, late twenties or early thirties. He looked worn out and haunted from his ordeal.

The man with the clipboard was back as the doctor asked gently.

"You don't belong with the crewmen, do you?"  
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go. I'd like to go back home."

"Where is home, son?" The doctor asked.

"With my wife. My daughter."

"Were they on the ship?" The doctor asked. The man with the clip board looked scared.

"I... I'm not sure. I tried to get them off. I knew they wouldn't make it."

"Tell me your name, son." The doctor asked.

"My name is Arthur Bradford." The young man in the borrowed crew jacket said.

"How did you wind up with the crewmen instead of with the passengers?"

"I don't know. I just stayed with them." Arthur said.  
"No one else named Bradford was on the ship, doctor." The man with the clip board told him. "He was traveling alone in a first class cabin."  
"Goodness, you _were_ with the wrong sort." the doctor laughed.  
"Were my wife and daughter picked up? Are they alright?" Arthur asked.

The doctor looked at the young man worriedly.

"Son, your wife and daughter are most likely at home worried sick about you. They weren't even on the ship. Now, we need to telegraph them and let them know you're alright. We can't have our women worry, now can we?"

"No, sir." Arthur said complacently.

"Were do you live, sir?" The man with the clip board said.

They watched as the mysterious young man scowled in concentration.

"I live... I... I moved... I live." It seemed to be hard work for him to remember.

"No matter." The doctor said. "We can list your name as the survivors. You're wife will see it, and know you're alright."

"I can't remember." Arthur stammered.  
"It's the shock of the disaster. It happened a lot to the _Titanic_ survivors. Especially the ones who were in the water. The mind sort of shuts down and forgets. Closes up shop for a bit, but don't worry, you'll get it back." The doctor said.

"I can't remember my wife's name." Arthur admitted sadly.


	59. Chapter 59

5.

~ Ariadne had stayed cloistered in her bedroom with only Olivia for comfort for nearly a week when Eames finally demanded she rejoin the rest of the family.  
"Darling, we're all upset about this." Eames growled as he took Olivia off the bed and gave her to Maura.  
"Give me my daughter back!" Ariadne screamed as she jumped out of her covers and tried to grab the baby out of Maura's hands.  
She had taken care of Olivia in the week since the sinking, but not of herself. She hadn't bothered to take a bath or wash her hair. Not even food could tempt her to come back into the world of the living.  
"NO!" Eames shouted as he easily picked up Ariadne's slight weight and prevented her from taking the baby.

Maura was quick to hurry out of the room as Olivia started to cry.

"Let me go!" Ariadne screamed as she kicked and tried to claw at Eames.

Her friend held her fast as she became a snarling banshee of anger mixed with grief.  
"I'm sorry." Eames was saying as he refused to release her. "I'm sorry you lost Arthur, but you can't spend the rest of your life locked in your room like this. It's not fair to Olivia for you to do this. She already lost one parent!"

Ariadne struck him in the face with a lucky fist and he momentarily released her.

"Ariadne! Stop it! Arthur is GONE! We have to accept that!" Eames growled as she went to hit him again and again.

Her punches didn't seem to phase Eames. His body had regained it's health and her feeble hits didn't detour him in the slightest.  
"NO!" Ariadne cried piteously. "No, I can't... I." She started to sob, ugly fat sobs that racked her whole body.  
"Ariadne, Arthur wouldn't want this for you. I know it's hard, but he wouldn't want you to curl up and die. That what you're doing right now. You're letting your grief take over and it's going to kill you. What will Olivia do without you?" Her friend asked.

Eames' voice was calm and collected as he spoke. His hands going back to her waist as he had to almost hold her up to standing.

"Arthur." Ariadne moan at last.

~ Ariadne sat naked in the scented water of her large bathtub.

Eames had convinced her to clean herself up before attempting to eat anything. Her friend sat behind her, rinsing her soapy hair out with a picture of warm, clean water.

Eames had not only taken charge of Blue Rivers, but had taken charge of her as well when no word came if Arthur was alive.

Ariadne knew he was dead. Knew that he had drowned on that ship in the cold sea. His body was cold and lost forever to her.

"As soon as we get cleaned, we can try to eat something." Eames said gently. He ran a soapy cloth over her bare back.

"Olivia?" Ariadne asked as Eames gave her the cloth so she could wash.

"She's with Maura." Eames assured her. "Being spoiled rotten no doubt."

"She's all I have now. Arthur and I were trying for a baby, and..." She felt a sharp pain in her body at the idea she would never have a child with Arthur.

"Olivia isn't all you have, darling." Eames said softly. "You have me and Phillipa. Not to mention Aunt Percy. We need you and we can't have you just leave us like this. Phillipa already lost her father and her brother. Arthur was becoming a father to her, we have to be there for her now that he's lost."

"Eames." Ariadne cried. "Olivia won't have a father."

"She'll have me." Eames said gently. His hands going to her bare back. "So will you."

_Ellis Island Hospital _

_Ellis Island, New York_

~ "Arthur?" a man with blond hair and bright, intelligent eye sat down across from his bed. A worried look clouding over his face.

Arthur recognized this man.

"I know you." Arthur said. His mind searching for a name.

"I'm Dom Cobb. I'm your lawyer and your friend." Cobb told him gently.

Arthur nodded his head. The name finally matching with the face. Memories of his friend washing back to him. He knew this man; worked with him; trusted him.  
"Yes. I remember now." Arthur said.

Cobb sighed in relief.

"It's good to see you again, Arthur. I didn't find your name on the survivors lists. I thought for certain you had gone down with the ship. It was relived to see the reprint this morning." Cobb said.

"Dom, I want to go back home." Arthur said.

"The doctors want to keep you for observation. The crew men said you were in the water for a long time. They pulled you on a boat, and you got lost in the shuffle of passengers and crew." Cobb explained. "They said you don't seem to remember very much and you've been very confused. The doctors think it was the shock of going into the water and the sinking. You have no fat on your body and you were lucky to survive the freezing waters to start with."

"How long have I been here?" Arthur asked. He was already tired and was grateful that he was lying in bed and didn't have to sit or stand.  
"How long do you think you've been here?" Cobb asked soberly.

Arthur shook his head.

"I'm not sure." he admitted.

"It's been over a week since the sinking. I haven't telegraphed Ariadne that you're alive yet. I didn't want to get her hopes up until I was sure. Until I saw you." Cobb explained.  
"Ariadne." Arthur repeated.

"Your wife. That's her name." Cobb told him.

Arthur had to think.  
"She was on the ship?" he asked.  
"No." Cobb said firmly. "Ariadne and Olivia are back home. They're at Blue Rivers. Their waiting for you to come home."

"I want to go home." Arthur said sadly. "I want to see my wife."

**Sorry about the short and iffy chapter. I had a crazy day. **

**My garbage disposal and washing machine broke. My bathroom sink is clogged with no hope of unclogging it. Top it off, my maintenance man is not answering his phone, and I'm about to lose my mind. **

**But, I wanted to upload a chapter for you guys anyway. If you don't have an update from me for three days in a row, call the police. LOL!**


	60. Chapter 60

**Part XIII**

**Fear**

1.

~ Arthur was reluctant to go aboard another ship; even if that meant he would be going home.

"You'll have to get on the ship, if you want to leave." Cobb said patiently.

Arthur hesitated before walking up the gangplank of the vessel. His nerves tightening in his stomach, till he felt like he might throw up.

Arthur had changed drastically after the sinking. It wasn't just the nightmares or the feeling of dread that seeped into his mind whenever he was alone.

He found himself scared of large crowds and loud noises. Being back on board a gigantic ship was all these new phobias and more. He was no longer the confident, resilient young man he once was. Coming so close to death seemed to have taken something from him.

Cobb had decided to travel back to England with Arthur on a smaller passenger boat. He had reasons to worry over Arthur's well being. Ariadne hadn't telegraphed them back that she had received the news that Arthur was still alive. It worried both men.

"I'm sure she's fine." Cobb said as Arthur asked for the hundredth time if Ariadne was alright.

"I keep feeling like I saw her on the _Empress_." Arthur insisted. His face was paler and dark circles were becoming more present each day.

"You didn't see her on the ship. Because she's at home." Cobb told him.

Arthur nodded and felt his hands flight over his clothing. His nervous habit returning to him.

Yet, it wasn't the same. Arthur had lost the finely pressed and tailored look he wore so well. It was easy to make excuses for his new dress style. They didn't have time to have a new wardrobe made before they left for England. Arthur seemed more comfortable in workman's clothing. The kind that was forgettable and comfortable. They made him look like he belonged with the crew in the boiler room instead of first class cabins; Cobb and Arthur now made an strange looking pair.

His hair was different now to. Arthur had chosen to get his once slicked back hair cut very close to his head. Combined with the weight loss, the dark circles under his eyes, the effect made him look slightly sick and odd.

"Don't worry, once we get you home, you'll feel better." Cobb said. Although his eyes betrayed him.

Arthur knew Cobb was worried.

~ Ariadne has slowly started to come back from the blackness she had been lost in. It had been almost two weeks since the sinking. They had received no word on Arthur. Deep in her heart, she knew he was lost. But she couldn't face it yet. She wanted to believe that he would come home soon and this would have only been some kind of a nightmare.

She was grateful to Eames for handling all the arrangements. For telegraphing the cruise line. For contacting Mr. Cobb. He visited the phone hub daily to see if there was word on Arthur. He would come back each afternoon, she would look up from reading to Olivia, and he would shake his head.

They were without hope. Left to drift in darkening grief.

~ Ariadne was reading to Olivia in the rose garden. The blooms were full of color and it was a perfect spot of being outside.

The two of them had come here everyday to enjoy the flowers and read from Olivia's rabbit books, as well as the other children's book Arthur had given to the little girl.

She could sense Eames had come into the garden before he said anything. He sat down on the stone bench beside her and Olivia, and said nothing as Ariadne finished the last lines of the story.

Olivia seemed pacified as her mother closed the picture book and kissed her temple.  
"Ariadne, we need to arrange a funeral. Have Arthur declared legally dead so that you can make a life insurance claim." Eames told her soberly.

It had been almost two weeks after the sinking, and Ariadne still held onto the irrational belief that Arthur would come through the door at any moment.

"No." She said as Olivia turned the page of her Peter Rabbit book and slapped the water colored drawing happily.

The baby made noises that sounded like 'Bunny' but were still in the realm of baby talk. Only Ariadne understood her specific language.  
"That's right. It's a bunny." She told her daughter.

"Ariadne, I know you don't want to think about this, but we need to have a service for him." Eames said. "We can call in the judge to have him declared-"

"Eames, I said no." Ariadne snapped.

Her friend leaned away from her. Her eyes had taken on a sinister bite as she glared at him.  
"I'm not ready to say goodbye to my husband. We haven't had confirmation that he's been lost yet." Ariadne told him.

"What proof do you need?" Eames growled.

She felt tears start to form.  
"Mama!" Olivia said worriedly as the baby looked up at her.  
"It's okay, Olivia." Ariadne said and tried to smile for her daughter's sake.

"Ariadne, I'm trying to do the right thing for you. I'm trying to make things easier. A funeral will let you say goodbye." Eames insisted. "It will let you move on. It's what Arthur would have wanted."

"Go away." Ariadne said in a whisper.

Eames stayed where he was. He looked at Olivia and then at his hands.  
"Eames, please." She said softly.

Her friend gave out a long sigh as he stood and stormed out of the garden.

~ "I'm going to go back to Philadelphia." Ariadne told her friend that evening after dinner.

Eames looked horrified.

"What?" He asked in clear shock. "You're going to leave Blue Rivers?"

"Yes. I've thought about it, and I can't stay here." She told him as she shifted Olivia on her hip.

"Ariadne, I told you I wanted you to stay. You told me your parents don't want you." Eames protested.

He looked around the room worriedly.

"Olivia's real father doesn't want you." He said in a whisper.  
"Olivia's father died at sea." Ariadne told him stiffly.

"My point is, you have no family in Philadelphia, or America. You have family _here_." He told her.

"Eames, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Helping my out of this sadness I've been feeling since Arthur's death. But I can't stay here." She told him.

"Why not?" He growled. "Give me one good reason why you can't stay here with me!"

She shrugged.

"I could never love you like I love Arthur." She said at last.

Eames looked heart broken.  
"I know you want me to. I know you want me to stay, and eventually move on. I know you want Olivia to call you Daddy one day and for us to fall in love and live happily ever after." She said with sniff. "If I had met you before I met Arthur, maybe that could happen. But I can't be with you after I've loved him."

"Ariadne, I'm willing to wait." Eames croaked. "I know you care about me, you rescued me from that charity hospital."

"I came to get you because I didn't want you to die. You saved me from Mrs. Abbot, and now were even." She said.

"Ariadne, it's only been two weeks. Lets wait awhile. You'll feel differently, I promise." Eames insisted.

"No, I won't."

"What about Phillipa? She's already lost her father and brother; now Arthur. She's to lose you next?" Eames argued.

"Phillipa has you. If she didn't, she could come with me." Ariadne said.

"How will you live? Penniless in America?" Eames spat. He was suddenly angry. "You would rather be alone and helpless there, then safe and provided for with me?"

"I'm going to telegraph Mr. Cobb in the morning and arrange to stay with him until Arthur's affairs are settled." She told him crisply. "My husband died a wealthy man. I'll be fine."

"No, you won't." Eames told her curtly.

She looked back at him curiously.

"You'll be destitute. You're forgetting the entail aren't you? When Arthur took the title and Blue Rivers, it was a bit like putting all his money into one big pot called the Bradford estate." Eames told her. A malicious glint in his eyes. "With him gone, all of his fortune and holdings, goes to the next male heir. Which, as you may have guessed, is _me_."

** Guys, I love you, but please stop with the slut shamming! I agree with one guest reviewer that the slut shaming on Ariadne is very disturbing.**

** I'm glad this story is so riveting, but Arthur isn't perfect and we cant expect Ariadne to be perfect. He was with other women before her, and we don't hate him for it. Double standards are WRONG!**


	61. Chapter 61

2.

~ Arthur didn't have a pleasant trip back to England. He was violently ill once more, and spent most of his time in the infirmary. The physician there trying to keep him calm and relaxed.

Cobb explained about the _Empress of Ireland_ and the doctor on board was kind enough to keep Arthur sedated for the rest of the trip.

"I want to see my wife." Arthur grumbled before sleeping for the rest of the trip.

_Blue Rivers_

_ June 1914_

~ "I certainly won't allow you and Olivia to starve on the streets." Eames said as Ariadne gaped at him. "I care about the both of you too much."

"I think you will let us starve if we leave you." Ariadne snapped.

"I wanted you to know what is happening. What the law says will happen to your husband's money once he's been declared lost." Eames said patiently.

"A thing you've been trying to have happen since the sinking." Ariadne huffed.

She had never been so angry at anyone. This man was no longer her friend. She wasn't sure what he was anymore.  
"Ariadne, you have to admit, it's been two weeks since the _Empress_ was lost. That is plenty of time for Arthur or Mr. Cobb to telegraph you that he was still alive. None of that has happened. Right now, all of his money, his factories and holdings are in limbo. We can't pay workers or even our own staff until we have Arthur declared dead." Eames argued.

"So you think you're the proper person to assume command of my husbands wealth? A playboy who has never had a real job, is suitable to run a large business?" Ariadne laughed. "You're not suitable to take care of yourself Mr. Eames!"

Her friend looked angry. A dark thunder cloud passing over his once kind eyes.

"I'm having the lawyers make up the paper work for declaring your husband legally dead. It's what is best for his company and you." He said calmly.

Ariadne shook her head.  
"I know you loved him. I know apart of you will always love him, but you need to let him go. It's not healthy for you or Olivia." He said.

His voice was rational and comforting. Yet his eyes had taken on a sinister look. They were gleaming and fill of anger.

"Don't think that just because I'm a woman with no rights; I won't try everything I can to stop you." She hissed at him. "I won't sign anything that says my husband is dead. I will never concede to you that my husband is lost. I will have Mr. Cobb fight the entail and we will win. Arthur would never want the company he has built from the ground up to be taken away by you."

"No, he wouldn't." Came a voice from the hallway.

Ariadne and Eames turned to see a ghost emerge from the the front hall and step into the library.

She almost fainted at the sight of Arthur. He was thinner and his face looked terribly haunted. His hair was all but shaved off his head and he looked sick and weak.

"_Arthur?_" She gasped.

Her hands went to her mouth as she fought a wave of dizziness. She was going to faint again, she knew it. She fought hard to stay in this moment.  
"You were going to have me declared dead?" Arthur accused the room.

Cobb soon appeared in the library next to his friend.  
"We haven't had word from you in two weeks. You were on the ship that sank." Eames said in disbelief.

"I sent three telegrams to Ariadne." Cobb said soothingly. "All three of them saying he was alive."

Arthur and Ariadne heard none of this. They stood looking at each other as if there had both become some very strange new life form.

"I went to the telegraph office every day to find out news and nothing!" Eames growled. "Do you have any idea how worried she has been? How worried the children have been?"

As Cobb and Eames argued, Ariadne looked her husband over.

His clothing was common and almost ragged looking.

"Your clothes." She whispered as she touched his summer work jacket. It was the type of thing the grounds keeper would wear.

"I lost all my things on the ship. Including some toys I had gotten for the kids." He whispered back as Cobb and Eames started to yell at one another.

He looked fragile and almost breakable to her. Her hands afraid to even touch him and she wanted to feel her body making contact with his. She need to touch him, to feel that he was real.

"Arthur, I thought... I really thought." She cried softly as Eames and Cobb were bickering.

"I thought for a long time you were on that ship with me." He whispered. "I had to make sure you were alright."

She nodded and took his hand.

"Let's go down to the kitchens and get you something to eat." She whispered as she lead her husband out of the fight Cobb and Eames were engaged in.

~ She surprised herself that she didn't know the first thing about cooking. She stepped into the massive, basement kitchen, only to find she didn't know how to light the stove or where anything was kept. She hadn't the first clue what to make for her husband who had suddenly come home and needed feeding and fattening up.

Her childhood, schooling and life in general hadn't prepared her for a life of cooking and other menial domestic chores. Still, it would have eased the tension she felt in the room if she was able to cook her husband a meal; however humble.

Arthur sat at the large, center table that was most likely used as a prep station for all the fine meals served at Blue Rivers.

His mother had been an excellent cook. Making warm comfort food out of very little. It was charming to see his society wife try so hard. Her pretty face becoming flustered as she roamed around the walk in larder and looked totally lost.

"Maybe I can cook us something." Arthur offered as he took off his workman's jacket and rolled up his sleeves.  
"Nonsense, it's my job." Ariadne said brightly as she held two eggs and looked unsure about what to do with them.

"Can you put those on the table and get me some flour out of there? Also some milk?" He asked gently as he stood and casually walked over to the large gas stove. It was a new piece of appliance, impressive and monstrous. Arthur was used to a wood burning stove as a boy, but he found he could make a ring on fire bloom on one burner.

His wife quickly followed his directions as retrieving flour and milk.

He greased a nearby pan and found a measuring cup.

"When I was a little boy, my parents and I would eat pancakes a lot. I never got tired of them. My mother would sweeten them with apple sauce or some kind of fruit bought at the last second." He told his wife as he measured out flour and milk. Cracking the eggs open as she watched him mix the batter.  
"I think I saw some homemade jam." Ariadne offered.  
"That will be nice." Arthur said softly as he poured a dollop of batter into the hot frying pan. A perfect ring formed and started to cook.

He made the pancakes as his wife went about the kitchen and set the prep station as if it were a normal dinning table. The kitchen proving bright and cheery and they wanted to stay in it's safety.

She let out an impressed gasp at seeing perfect pancakes presented to her after a few minutes.

"Very nice. It's good to know one of us can cook." She laughed as he filled his own plate and sat down next to her.

"All men need to know how to cook something." Arthur said. A smiled trying to come to his face, that failed to reach his sober eyes.

They ate in silence for a while. The whole affair of cooking together and eating was strange to her. It made her feel like a newlywed in a totally different life.  
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked as she poured him another glass of milk.

"Not really." He admitted softly to the empty kitchen.

"How's Olivia?" He asked.  
Ariadne brightened and smiled.  
"She's fine. We can go see her after you eat. Phillipa was upset that you were gone. She'll be very happy to see you again." Ariadne told him.

"James?" Arthur asked.

"James is fine." Ariadne said darkly. "Arthur, why didn't you telegraph me that you were alright? I was so worried. When I didn't hear from you... I thought the worst."

"Cobb said that he telegraphed you." Arthur told her humorlessly. His focus on the remainder of his plate.

"Well, we'll figure that out later." Ariadne whispered. More to herself then to her husband.  
"Did Mr. Eames come back after he heard about the sinking?" Arthur asked.

"No." Ariadne said slowly. "I received a phone call a few hours after you left for New York. Mr. Eames had taken ill in London. He was at a Charity hospital there and needed help. He was very sick."

"So you went to retrieve him." Arthur concluded.

"He has just recently gotten his strength back." Ariadne told him. "He's been worried about you to."

"I doubt that. He seemed pretty intent on having me declared dead." Arthur said coldly; not looking at her.

"The entail. He would have inherited all your money." She explained.

"It was never money he was after. I offered him a tidy sum if he left us and never returned. Mr. Eames turned it down. Said he had no intention of taking orders from me on who he could be friends with."

"You tried to _pay_ Eames to stay away from me?" Ariadne said catching her breath.

"Yes." Arthur told her; unapologetic.

"You tried to bribe my only friend to leave?" She looked at him critically.

"Yes, I did. You know why." Arthur told her curtly.

He watched as her face flushed red and hot. Her eyes looking down at her plate.

"I won't apologize for it either, madam." He said crisply. "You never told me Mr. Eames was living here again. You had the opportunity; you kept it secret."

"He was sick. He had pneumonia and I didn't want to worry you." She explained.

Arthur was indigent.  
"You didn't tell me because you knew I would be upset. Because you knew it was wrong." He accused.

"Wrong? Like attempting to pay off my only friend to leave me because your jealous is wrong?" She snapped.

"No." Arthur said calmly. "Like paying off my wife's potential lover to prevent an affair is wrong."

They dueled with their eyes for what seemed an eternity before Ariadne looked away.  
"Arthur, I don't want to fight. You just got back home and I had thought I lost you." She said.

He could see she was holding back tears.  
"I was going to leave Blue Rivers till Eames started this mess with the entail. Telling me I would be penniless if I left." She said.

"Would you have stayed with Eames if I _had_ died?" Arthur grumbled as he finished the last of his milk.

"No." She said honestly. "I would have gone to America. Pleaded with Cobb to help me."

Arthur nodded.  
"I overheard what you said to Eames before I came in. I believe you would have fought against the entail." He said. He looked her over disapprovingly. "But I don't trust you."

She gaped at him and Arthur felt this blood run cold and hard.

"You brought that man back into our home while I was gone and never told me he was here. What am I supposed to think when I come back into this house to find him here? Talking about taking over my life?" He growled.  
"I wouldn't have let that happen!" She insisted.  
"I think you would have eventually let that happen, madam." He said darkly. "It's just too convenient for you isn't it? One husband gone, another man can so easily step in. How long would you have mourned for me?" He asked sarcastically.  
"I _did _mourn for you, Arthur. I couldn't get out of bed for days." She said in a dead tone. "I won't defend myself to your accusations. You will believe whatever you want to believe. I wouldn't have stayed with Eames no matter what his situation was. I would have fought for the rest of my life to keep your company and money out of his hands because I know you would be insulted if a man like him were to run something you built."

She stood and took her plate tot he sink.

She didn't look at him as she left the cozy kitchen.

"Good night." She said stiffly as she left him.

**I wanted to let everyone know that if you like this story, you will LOVE Kate Morton's work. If you are a fan of "Downton Abby", I highly recommend "The House in Riverton" by Kate Morton. It's ****amazingly well written. **

** My favorite of her now four books is "The Forgotten Garden". It's wonderful, although it made me crazy for a little while and I'm afraid I haven't been able to come back from going crazy.**

** For those of you who have read it, or will read it, I greatly identified with Eliza Makepeace. She was this amazing creative person who didn't conform to the time at all (1900s). She wrote Gothic stories and was generally the black sheep of the family.**

** So much of my own life is present in this book, it made me very sad. Particularly the parts about abandoned children. **

** And yes, this is the book Ariadne was reading in "Bedtime Stories".**

** Also, if you like this, as well as Downton Abby. YouTube had org eps "Upstairs, Downstairs" available for FREE. Amazing TV show.**

** Also check out Channel 4, PBS "Manor House". **

** Kate Morton is an amazing writer and you will LOVE her!**


	62. Chapter 62

3.

~ Arthur stayed in the kitchen, drinking milk and thinking, till past midnight. Cobb was waiting for him when he finally emerged from the downstairs, into the library.

"Mr. Eames says he didn't know anything about the telegrams I sent to Ariadne." Cobb told him.

Arthur only nodded.

"Lets give him the benefit of the doubt and assume they were sent to the wrong office." Arthur said sadly. "They _both_ looked surprised to see me."

"Eames was trying to have you declared dead. It would have been a legal nightmare if that happened. Even if you were still alive, you would have to prove you were really Arthur Bradford. It would have been a mess." Cobb sighed. "We were lucky to have come home when we did. You could have lost everything."

Arthur only nodded.  
"Not everything, apparently." Arthur said to himself. "You know where your room is right?" he asked.  
"Yes." Cobb said looking worriedly at his friend.

Arthur shoulders were hunched over and he looked nothing like the intimating businessman Cobb always knew him to be.

Arthur now looked scared and almost shy.

"Are you going to be alright?" Cobb asked.

"Of course." Arthur answered. "I'm home."

~ Arthur watched Olivia sleeping peacefully for a long time. The baby had gotten bigger since the last time he had seen her. She had much more hair and her nose was unmistakably Ariadne's. Yet, he could see traces of Jeffery in the innocent little girl.

As if knowing he wanted to talk to her, or sensing he was there with her, Olivia opened her eyes and noticed Arthur.

"Hello, beautiful." Arthur said brightly as Olivia cast her mother's large eyes on him. Bewitching him completely.

"Da! Da!" She cried out and reached out for him. She was suddenly a jumble of energy and Arthur worried she might not go back to sleep anytime soon.

He melted as the infant seemed magnetically pulled to him. Her trusting him completely as he picked her up out of her bed and held her warm body close.

Since the _Empress_ sank, and he had been in the cold waters, he never seemed to be able to stay warm. He always wanted to wear a jacket and he was terrified of being cold. However, Olivia's body was like a comforting ball of warmth. He felt her chase away the coldness that hadn't left his skin since the sinking.

Sitting princess like in arms, Olivia observed his face carefully.  
"You remember me?" He asked her affectionately as she ran her fat, baby hands over his face.  
"Da!" She called out to him.

Then she squirmed out of his grasp and demanded to be put down. Arthur, never one to say no to beautiful girls, promptly put her on her feet and she almost ran to her toy box.  
"She's walking a lot better now." Ariadne whispered.

Arthur looked up. He hadn't noticed that she had come into the nursery.  
"Yes, she is." He agreed as Olivia went to get her toys out of the box and stat playing. The infant delighted to have both her parents in audience.

They both sat side by side on Olivia's little rug and watched her. Neither one of them looking at each other.

"Sorry I woke her up. But I had to see her." Arthur said as they watched Olivia play and babel to herself.  
"It's alright." Ariadne assured him. "I had a feeling you would be here."

"I had to see her. I missed the both of you, but her more then I was expecting." Arthur said with a faint smile.

They watched in mutual silence as Olivia drug one of her dolls out by the hair and threw it to the ground.

"She remembers me." Arthur said at last.

"Of course she does."

"She called me Da." Arthur said and swallowed hard.

"She called me mamma." Ariadne confessed.

As if on cue, Olivia shouted "Mamma!" and showed her the doll.

"Did she ever call Eames Da?" Arthur asked worriedly as they smiled at the little girl.  
"No." Ariadne told him.

"Da!" Olivia shouted at Arthur and brought him the doll.  
"Hello, princess." Arthur said as Olivia fell into his lap and demanded his attention. "I had bought you and the other kids all teddy bears, but I'm afraid I left them on the ship that got sunk."

He didn't notice Ariadne had started crying.

Her hand going to her face as she turned away from him.  
"I think I'll have to buy some new ones for the kids now." He admitted. "I don't know why I didn't think to get new ones before I left. I just wanted to come home."

"It's alright." Ariadne whispered.

They said nothing for a long time.  
"When the ship was sinking, I saw a woman on the deck holding a baby Olivia's age." Arthur whispered.

Ariadne remained silent as she watched Olivia.

"They reminded me so much of the both of you. They didn't make it off the ship of course, and I knew they were going to die. I saw them, I knew the baby was too young and the girl wouldn't leave her child to save herself." Arthur said as if in a trance.

He shook his head. Clearing it of bad thoughts.

"Cobb had to work hard to convince me that it wasn't really you and Olivia on the boat with me. All I could think about was getting back to you." Arthur said.

Ariadne said nothing. She knew he needed to tell her these things.

"I haven't been right since the sinking." he said painfully. "I have nightmares, I can't shake all the anxiety I've been feeling and I forgot how to be the person I was before. I'm not sure why."

"Arthur, what you went through was horrible. You almost died." Ariadne whispered.

He sighed and ran a hand over Olivia's fine, wavy hair; the color of dark honey.

"I know you didn't bring Eames here to have an affair. I know you just wanted to help him." Arthur told her. "It was wrong of me to try and pay him off to leave you, but I'm so afraid of losing you. Out of everything I've done in my life, all I've accomplished, I feel you're the only thing that matters."

He heard her choke back a sob but didn't look at her.

"Arthur, I would never have brought Eames back if I wasn't convinced he was going to die. You should have seen that hospital." Ariadne croaked. Trying to hold back a sob.

He nodded.  
"I heard what you told Eames. How you could never love him after loving me." He said and finally looked at her.

His large hand here on her face in an instant. Gently wiping away the tears that had escaped and were coursing down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry for saying I don't trust you. You're the only person I know I can trust." He whispered as she curled up closer to him. "I was just so angry to see him there. The only time we ever fight is about Eames."

"I want to go back to America." She whimpered. Olivia's fingers playing with Ariadne's long hair. "I want to start over. We were planning to leave anyway, lets just go now and not look back."

"Alright." Arthur said numbly. "What about Lady Percy?"

"We can hire someone to look after her here, or take her with us." Ariadne told him. "Phillipa should come with us. We can just close the house down and you can succeed the title. That way, we won't have to worry about the entail anymore. Let Eames be lord of the manor."

"You think he'd fall for it?" Arthur laughed. His smile finally reaching his eyes.

They said nothing as they watched Olivia nod off in Arthur's lap.

"You should put her to bed." Ariadne whispered. "It's very late."

He nodded and obeyed his wife's marching orders.

The baby went back to sleep easily. Her cheeks becoming pink in her slumber.

~ It was with great shyness that Arthur stepped back into the bedroom he shared with Ariadne. He had missed her, he wouldn't deny it, but he was unsure if he could be with her like he used to. His body was so different now.

"Let's get you out of these horrible clothes." She said as she started to unbutton his shirt.

Arthur felt panicked and put his hands over the buttons to stop her.  
"I can do it." He said and suddenly wanted to be alone when he changed.  
"Would you like a bath first?" She asked gently. Her voice soothing and her face caring.

"No, I took a bath this morning at the inn." he whispered.

"Let's just go to bed. You must be tired." she said softly. Her hands running over his chest like she was found of doing.

Arthur stepped away from her. Her close contact made him nervous.

"Arthur?" She questioned as she tried to take his hand in hers.

He shook his head, slipped off his shoes and climbed into bed fully clothed.  
"Arthur, you still have your clothes on." Ariadne reminded him.  
"I'm tired." he said feebly.

She didn't know what to think of this behavior. Arthur would never shy away from her touch or dress like this. His weight loss, his haircut. All of this made him like another person.

"Alright." Ariadne whispered and climbed into bed next to him. She felt Arthur shift away from her slightly as she tried to snuggle close to him.

"Arthur, I love you." She whispered.

"I love you to." he said.

His voice was mechanical and dead.


	63. Chapter 63

** Part XIV**

** New Beginnings**

1.

~ Fleeing Blue Rivers was easier then they expected. Ariadne had Maura and Maggie pack their things into trunks and boxes the next morning. A task that only took a few hours.

Arthur had vanished to go walking outside, and Cobb was in the library on the phone all day. The solicitor made all the travel arrangements as Ariadne moved quickly from room to room. Suddenly, she couldn't wait to be free of Blue Rivers.

Eames was nowhere to be found, and Cobb told her he suspected her former friend had fled to London. She felt a sharp pain in her heart at the idea of losing Eames.

Perhaps he truly didn't know Arthur was still alive. Cobb had called the telegraph office and there was no records of any telegrams sent. Maybe Eames really was trying to protect her.

She shook her head and decided not to think about it.

"We don't need to worry about anything but clothing for now. We can have anything else shipped to us." Ariadne said as she ordered the two maids on what to pack and what not to.

In one day, she was pleased to find the families belongings were neatly packed in only four traveling trunks.

She had expected much more, but then again, she and Arthur had arrived to this house with very little.

~ Lady Percy had started to walk on her own again, and wandered around the house. She was in a pleasant mood most of the time and it was a hard decision to take her with them or leave her in the care of a local woman who was looking after her older parents and in-laws. The woman would have gladly taken Lady Percy in if it meant a little extra money each month.

"I would feel bad about leaving her with strangers." Ariadne told Arthur when he came in for lunch and most of the packing was done.

Her husband had mercifully shed the ugly workman's clothes, but his current clothing choice was hardly better. His shirt was common and too big for him. His pants would have been suitable for a factory worker, but not the owner.

She wanted to say something about his current dressing habits, but held back. Hopefully, he would come back to himself with time.

He said nothing as he carefully ate his meal. Each bite seeming painful.

"I think we should take her back with us." Ariadne told him. "I know were little better than strangers, but we're all she has and we can't trust anyone to look after her better."

"Alright." Arthur agreed.

She waited for him to say more. He had accepted her rational to easily. Her husband always had more prejudice ideas regarding Lady Percy.  
"Where were you this morning?" She asked. Hoping to engage him in conversation.

"With James and Phillipa." He said simply.

She waited for him to say something else, but they sat in silence.  
Finally, he stood up and told her.  
"James is coming with us to New York. Maggie can be a house maid or look after the children. James is just as much a part of our family as Phillipa is." He said.

"Alright." Ariadne said. She didn't want to argue with him. Sensing he would not back down on the issue.

~ Arthur had finished his lunch and wandered around the grand house. He looked over the finely decorated walls and artwork of his long dead family. He looked at the ugly portrait of Lady Percy in her fluffy pink dress. At the large painting of his great-grand father. This was the home his family knew; but it wasn't his home.

His feeling towards Blue Rivers had changed. He no longer saw this house as something he was denied and robbed of. Rather, this house and all that came with it, was like a burden. It's weight pulling him underwater.

_Underwater. _

He closed his eyes as he thought back to the cold waters. The ship sinking from under him. His shock at how quickly the thing had happened. How the water didn't stop rising. The screams of people. Crying, begging for help. The cold, the cold that penetrated deep into his body.

"Sir?"

Arthur snapped out of his trance to see Maggie standing in the parlor with him. She looked him over worriedly with her large, blue eyes.  
"Maggie." Arthur said and tried to compose himself.

He didn't have his well tailored suit to protect him anymore. His clothing was spartan and comfortable. His weight loss was noticeable he had knew he was oddly out of place in this house.  
"You looked like you came over funny there, sir." She told him.

"I did." Arthur laughed. "What do you need, Maggie?"

"I wanted to ask if there was anything you wanted from the library for your trip." She told him.

He thought about his library. Its floor to ceiling books that were the envy of the county. Except for the phone, there was nothing there he had come with.  
"I don't believe so." Arthur said sadly.

Maggie nodded and looked curiously at him.

"Are you sure you're alright, sir?" She asked.  
"I will be." Arthur told her.  
"Well, we're all relived you're back. Betty, the scullery maid, just about ran screaming down the halls with the news this morning. She wasn't sure if you were a ghost come back to haunt us, or what." Maggie offered.

Arthur laughed.

"No. No ghost. I suppose Ariadne has told you we will be moving to America permanently." Arthur told the pretty maid.

"She did, sir. Don't worry, James and I will be fine. I was thinking of taking a position at the phone hub." Maggie said.  
"Maggie, I want you and James to come with us. James is Phillipa's half brother. We have precious little family left these days." Arthur explained.

Maggie looked at him in wonder. Her pretty lips perking into a smile.  
"You think of my James as family?" She said hopefully.  
"Of course." Arthur told her. "I had actually bought him a teddy bear and I'm afraid it's now lost with the _Empress_."

"Sir." Maggie interrupted. She looked like she might cry.  
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked. He was a little scared she was breaking down like this, and he was unsure what to do.

"Not even his own father cared about him as much as you do." She said. "I could never repay you for how kind you've been to us."

Arthur shifted uncomfortably.

"There's no need-" he started to say before she interrupted.  
"When we heard about the sinking, I felt just awful for Lady Ariadne, but I cried myself to sleep for a long time to. I've never had such a kind employer before." She admitted as she sniffed.

Arthur automatically reached for his handkerchief and found it wasn't there. His hands clutching instead on the cheap pocket watch that had belonged to his father. A watch that no longer worked since the sinking had left it in the water too long.

She shook her head and plucked out her own shabby handkerchief. Her blue eyes dazzling him from her tears.

"Maggie, I'm sorry." Arthur whispered. He could think of nothing else to say.

She nodded and before he could stop her, she leaned into him and hugged him.

"I'm just so glad your home, sir." She whispered in his ear. "I never cared for that Mr. Eames. When we went to go and get him from Whitechaple, I knew he was a bad sort."

Arthur barely returned her hug. Some spark of information made his brain reignite.

"You were with with Lady Ariadne when she retrieved Mr. Eames?" Arthur asked.

Maggie pulled away and nodded.

"From Whitechaple?" He asked skeptically.

She nodded again.  
"Yes, sir. I know that he must have been close to the both of you. The way she looked after him." Maggie explained.

"How, _exactly_, did she look after him?" Arthur asked.


	64. Chapter 64

2.

_New York City_

_ July 29th, 1914_

~ Arthur looked over the impressive banner headline of his morning newspaper.

**WAR DECLARED IN EUROPE**

It had finally happened. His fears had become a reality.

"It's a good thing we left England when we did." He told his wife.

Ariadne looked worriedly at the large type, then at her husband.  
"Arthur, will you have to go? I mean, they won't call you up, will they?" She asked.

He shook his head.  
"America isn't in the fight; not yet anyway." He told her.

They had arrived in New York barely a month ago, and had just settled in a large brownstone. It was away from the city so it felt more like a home, but it was a far cry from the elegance of Blue Rivers. The rooms were much smaller and there was less space on all fronts.

The servants, Maura, Miles and Maggie, had been the only servants to come with the family to America, but they still had to hire a new cook.

As it was, Maggie was doing most of the cooking and Maura was helping with the cleaning and child care.

Ariadne had been exhausted as she unpacked and ordered furnishings for the house. Miles had not taken to life in America very well, and complained loudly of how busy New York was.

The house was in complete disarray when the paper arrived that morning announcing war had finally caught up with them.

"Even if America does enter the fight, I doubt I'll be called up. I'm a factory owner. My place is managing production and keeping the good guys in tanks and other weapons." Arthur explained.

Ariadne nodded and looked worriedly at her husband.

He had let his hair grow out some. His style of dress had returned to him as well. The handsome suits he liked to wear coming back into his wardrobe little by little. His old home of New York suiting him better then Blue Rivers.

She sighed and looked around the mess of the front parlor.  
"I'll have all this strait by the end of the week. A Mr. Lowe is supposed to come and install a new water boiler and the decorators will come in and..." She looked helplessly around at the wreck of the half unpacked house.

"I think I may have to hire a nanny." She admitted sadly.

Olivia had been colicky during the sea voyage and she had cried all night and all day. Her wails couldn't be soothed by Maura, Ariadne or even Arthur.

Lady Percy's nurse was summoned and the baby was given medicine to alive the pressure in her stomach. The infant looking at her mother with such judgment, that Ariadne cried at letting her daughter suffer without knowing what to do.  
"We have three young children, not to mention Lady Percy, in a much smaller house with much less staff. It's not admitting defeat to say you need help." Arthur offered sympathetically.

Ariadne nodded as they watched Olivia walk around the the dinning room that had been quartered for the children to use as a temporary play room.

Another aspect of the move that they hadn't anticipated was the lack of outdoor space for the children. James and Phillipa were used to running free outdoors in wild country. Now, they were hesitant about living in such an urban world.

Phillipa, not used to interacting with other children, had unwittingly offended a group of neighborhood girl by correcting their grammar and telling them they must address her as 'Lady' Phillipa.

It was a devastating first impression.

Since the disaster, Phillipa and James had been reluctant to venture outside without Arthur or Ariadne with them.

"I'm sorry, I have to go meet with Cobb and a factory foreman." Arthur sighed as he looked at the clock. "Hire whatever staff you need, darling."

He bent down and kissed her cheek.

Ariadne held onto him a little tighter. Their intimate parings at night had been slow, but promising. The horrors of the _Empress_, the crossing and moving into a strange new city, all of it had taken it's toll. Such a thing as marital relations had to be put on hold for now.  
"I was thinking we could..." Ariadne said hopefully. Her cheek tinting pink as she tried to catch Arthur's eye.

Arthur looked embarrassed.

"Sure, of course. It's about time we got back... to that." He admitted.

She smiled at him as Olivia threw one of her blocks across the floor.

"I have to go." Arthur said as the toddler stated to cry for attention.

Ariadne nodded and was left to a disorganized house, a crying infant, over worked maids and too much to do.

~ Arthur was about to hail a cab when he heard a voice asking him to wait.

He turned and expected to see Ariadne running after him with one last kiss goodbye, but it was Maggie. Her red hair coming loosely out of it's pins.  
"I was hoping to share a cab with you to the market, sir." Maggie breathed. She had obviously run to catch up with him. "Her ladyship wanted milk and a few other things."  
"Oh, of course." Arthur told her and bowed her into the new car he had brought back with him from Blue Rivers.

"You don't have to call her 'Ladyship' here." Arthur laughed as he started the automobile.  
"It will take some time to break the habit, sir." Maggie laughed.

"Well, you'll get used to New York. We're not so formal here." Arthur told her.

"I'm used to city life, sir." Maggie said. "We were wondering about your thoughts on the war." She asked, changing the subject abruptly.

The streets had suddenly flooded with pedestrians and horse draw carriages. All fighting for the right away.  
"Do you have brothers who will be drafted?" Arthur asked her.  
"No, sir." Maggie said sadly. "I've no family left except for James."

"Don't worry about the war. We're far away from it now, and hopefully, it will be just something we read about in the newspapers." He told her confidently.

"I hope so, sir."

Arthur smiled and said nothing as they watched the people.  
"It's good to be back in this city. I grew up here." Arthur told her. "Not too far away from here in fact."

"Really?" Maggie asked hopefully.

Arthur suddenly turned into a street and drove them to a rundown tenement district a few blocks away.

"That building there." Arthur pointed out to the pretty red haired girl.

"That was your house?" She asked trying to be polite and pretending not to see the dirty streets and disorganized people.

"No. We had a little room." Arthur laughed. "My parents and I."

Maggie looked confused.  
"I didn't come from money, Maggie." He told her soberly. "My father arrived here with nothing. He was only a little older then Phillipa. We had very little when I was young."

"But you bettered yourself." Maggie said brightly. "That's admirable, sir."

"You don't have have to call me, sir." Arthur offered her.

Being back in his old neighborhood. Sitting beside a pretty girl who knew what it was like to be hungry and scared most nights, he felt foolish acting like her social better.

"When were alone, you can call me Arthur." He told her.

She looked shy and said nothing.

Arthur looked at the old buildings he knew as a child. He never noticed how dirty and run down they were. How ugly the streets really were. The boys who ran the gangs were neglected children who grew up too fast.

What if Arthur had never made his fortune? Would he still be living here in these crowded, yet homey streets? Perhaps married to a simple girl like Maggie; with a few squalling babies they called their own.

Arthur shook his head.

If he wasn't wealthy, a fine lady like Ariadne would never so much as talk to him.  
"I grew up hard to, sir. We had nothing when I was a girl. I had to leave school when I was seven. I had to help my mother by taking in washing and such." Maggie told him suddenly.

"I said, call me Arthur." He told her.  
"_Arthur_." She said nervously. "After my mum died of fever, and my dad of typhoid, I was sent to the work house. I was lucky to get out of there."

"My parents are gone as well." Arthur told her.  
"It's odd being a grown up orphan isn't it?" Maggie said wrinkling her nose. "I mean, you need your mum and dad, even when your older and should manage on your own."

Arthur thought about his parents. What would they think of Ariadne? Her pretty clothes and manners were so different from the world they knew.

"I would have liked for my mother to have helped me with James." Maggie said softly. "I wanted better for him then that flat in London we ended up in."

"The two of you aren't there anymore." Arthur said gently. "You'll never have to go there again."  
"I'm going to enroll him in the public school, sir." Maggie said sitting up a little more proudly. "I want him to have a good education. It would please me very much if he grew up to be a fine a man as you have."

Arthur couldn't help but blush as he looked at the road and not at her.

They had reached the market and Maggie was quick to hop out.  
"Sorry about the detour." Arthur told her as she secured her loosened hair. "Will you be alright to get home on your own?"

"Of course!" Maggie said with a laugh.

He was about the close the car door and have the driver take him to Cobb's office when the pretty maid stopped him.

"Um, Arthur?" she said meekly

He looked at her expectantly.

"Your mother and father would be very proud of you." she told him.

Her blue eyes sincere and dazzling him once more.

Arthur nodded and said nothing. He wasn't sure what to say.

It wasn't until he reached Cobb's office he thought of all he wanted to tell her.

~ The house was in much better repair when Arthur returned home.

Ariadne had forgotten how quickly things got done in America.

America was a country where money ruled. There was always a carpenter or electrician looking for work who would come in at any hour if it meant they would be paid. There were a line of potential woman the agency sent over for the cook and nanny, all of whom were eager to work.

None of them, being immigrants, were accustomed to the hierarchy of service. Miles was curt in his explanation of their duties.

"Your Ladyship, I wish we could have taken more of our own staff with us." Miles had said after they hired a rough Italian woman who spoke little English to be their cook.  
"I'm afraid we have traded luxury for convenience." Ariadne said as the furniture movers had come in and set up her first set of new furniture.

Never before had she been able to buy her own furniture. Blue Rivers had been fully furnished and this was her first house, that was all her own.

She felt delighted to be the mistress of a house that was hers.

~ "Wow!" Arthur exclaimed as he came through the front door. The brownstone transformed in just ten hours. "This looks amazing!"

"I've had workers in here all day." Ariadne said proudly as she showed him the parlor with it's new furniture. "I've hired a cook and tomorrow, I'm hiring a nanny."

Gone was the disarray of the house and it's rooms. The workmen had finished putting in electricity and phone lines. The house was cleaned properly and the rooms looked more livable.  
"I'm proud of you, darling." Arthur said as she beamed at him.

"I've had Maura feed the children and Lady Percy already. Are you hungry?" she asked. Sweeping away an errant strand of her hair.

"Starving." Arthur said.

"I got you a little something to. While I was shopping." She told him as he noticed a little package on the dinning room table.

It was wrapped in a blue box.

"What is it?" Arthur asked with a smile.

"I don't know." Ariadne said with a mischievous smile.

Arthur noticed the box had come from Tiffany co before he carefully opened the ties and saw what was hidden inside.

It was not a pocket watch, but it was a watch.

"The lady at the shop calls it a _wrist watch_." Ariadne told him. "They expect to have the soldiers use them a lot now that the war is on."

"It's like a bracelet." Arthur mused as he looked over the interesting device. Like a pocket watch, it had it's own clam shell like enclosure. But a canvas strap looked like it was meant to buckle around his wrist.

"It's very innovative and modern." Ariadne told him.

She was worried he might not like it.  
"I know your old watch was broken after the _Empress_." She admitted sadly. "I was going to take it to be repaired, but I saw this and I knew you would love it."

"I _do_ love it." Arthur said honestly.

Ariadne smiled.

"Open it." Ariadne prompted.

Arthur looked at the decorative schoolwork of the watches cover and snapped it open.

Inside the lid, was engraved.

_To my husband, Arthur_

_ I love you every second_

_ Your wife, Ariadne_

_ July 29th, 1914_

Arthur smiled as he read and re-read the engraving.

He felt a strange fire stir to life in his heart for her.

"Let's skip dinner for now." He said softly. "Let's just go to bed."

**The first year my husband and I were married, I gave him a new watch that was engraved with:** _**I love you every second.**_


	65. Chapter 65

3.

~ Arthur was breathing hard as he rolled off her warm body. Her touch sending electric waves of pleasure through him as he felt her naked skin graze over his.  
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked as he realized he had been sweating.

She giggled slightly.

"No, sir." She said in the thick English accent he had gotten used to.

He pushed aside long red hair to see a blue eye glance up at him.

Maggie rolled over, cat like, on top of him.

"I told you to call me, Arthur." He said as she smiled up at him.

"I like to call you, sir." Maggie told him. "No one will know about us if we keep things more formal."

Arthur let our a sigh as his body calmed down after his climax.

"We can't have people finding out about us. Not yet anyway." He laughed.

His fingers finding that long, red hair of hers and twisting a rouge tendril.

~ Arthur jumped awake; his heart racing.

He was breathing hard and as he tired to remember what was real, and what was the dream.

'_No, that wasn't real.'_ He thought as he wished he could be sure that Maggie in his bed had only been a dream.

By his side, in their new marriage bed, his beautiful wife slept. Her long dark brown hair falling neatly over her shoulders. Her large, doe like eyes were closed as she slept effortlessly.

He had finally be able to make love to her for the first time since the trauma he had suffered from the _Empress'_ sinking.

It had been a strange, new achievement; to be with Ariadne again. He found he was shy around the woman he loved so dearly, as she tired to sooth away all his fears with her love.

He had fallen asleep effortlessly and dreamed of a strange life with Maggie in his bed. Maggie's red hair instead of Ariadne's dark.

He looked around the room, half expecting to see his phantom lover waiting for him.

"Shit." He panted in the darkness as his was surprised to feel his body roused and excited after the dream of Maggie.

Arthur made sure his elegant wife was sleeping peacefully before he slipped his night clothes on and left her.

~ Downstairs, the house was dark and still. He wasn't used to maneuvering around the new, smaller house. Compared to Blue Rivers, this house was tiny, but he found the kitchen and the cold storage ice box.

He was hungry, but not hungry enough to prepare anything. His mind still going over the idea of Maggie's body and his.

She was a sweet, simple girl. Surely, the kind of woman he would have married if he hadn't made his fortune and could have Ariadne as his bride. Maggie's rough, common place manners and looks were a far cry from Ariadne's high born beauty and style.

They were like two sides of the same coin however. Ariadne: beautiful and sophisticated. Bold and independent. Maggie: enchanting and simplistic. Humble and kind.

Arthur drank the last of the milk, and was about the leave the kitchen when a voice called him back.  
"I think we may just need to have our milk delivered. The way this family goes through it."

Arthur turned to see Maggie. The pretty maid securing her dressing robe and sleeping bonnet on her head.

"What are you doing up so early?" Arthur asked in surprise.  
"It's five in the morning, sir. I always get up this early in morning." she told him as she rinsed out his glass in the sink.

"For what?" He asked looking at the kitchen wall clock.

"It takes a lot of work to run a house. We do laundry and cleaning. Our day starts very early." Maggie explained.

"I should have known that. Do you need me to hire more help?" He asked.

He suddenly felt badly that this pretty young woman had to clean up after him.

"No. I can manage." Maggie said in a whisper.

She gave Arthur a little smile.

"James will be up soon. I'm going to walk my boy to school this morning." She told him proudly. "All the American mothers, they walk their children to school."

"Yes, I think Ariadne mentioned something about taking Phillipa to some kind of academy today." Arthur laughed.

The space between them growing vast. James had to go to an over crowded public school, Phillipa to a private school for well bred young ladies.  
"I'll be very happy when James gets good at learning. I want him to go into business the way you did. We both admire you very much, sir." Maggie told him.

Arthur looked down at his feet.

"Well, perhaps we he gets old enough he can come work in my office." Arthur offered.  
"I think he would like that. He never had a father, he looks up to you so much, sir." Maggie told him.

He looked at her then. Her face, and those dazzling blue eyes, meeting his.

She looked at him with perfect trust and something almost like awe.

"I had better try to get some sleep." Arthur told her. "Busy day today." He added.

"Yes, sir." Maggie agreed.


	66. Chapter 66

**Part XV**

**Disorder**

_New York_

_ March, 1915_

1.

~ Arthur had been waking up promptly at four in the morning for the past few months. Sometimes he roused his beautiful raven haired bride from her sleep. Gently nudging her awake with a kiss on her neck and asking for affection. She almost always gave into him. Wondering what had him so amours this early in the morning; with all the rest of the world asleep.

After their blissful lovemaking, he would leave her sleeping; dress and go downstairs. His body was happy and sexually spent on those mornings. It made things so much easier when he talked to Maggie.

The pretty maid would talk briefly to him. Their conversations reminding him of how his parents were with each other. The simple domestic acts of her fixing him something to eat. Him eating a hot, staying meal at the kitchen table as they talked about James skinning his knee playing baseball.  
"I blame _you_, sir. Maggie told him in no uncertain terms.

Arthur only smiled.  
"Boys skin their knees." Arthur laughed as she poured him a second cup of coffee.

"He wants to join some baseball team now." Maggie complained in a teasing way.

They didn't say much else as they ate and drank coffee.

"Is her ladyship well?" Maggie asked gently.

Arthur shook his head.

He wasn't ready to talk about it. Ariadne had been hopeful every month for the past eight months they would fall pregnant.

Nothing.

"We keep expecting good news. Good news doesn't want to come." He said tactfully. Men were not supposed to say the words 'pregnant' or give any indication of such things. 'Good news' or 'hopeful addition' were the best Arthur could do.

"It must be hard on her. Maura told me the birth of your daughter was difficult. It might mean she can't have any more children." Maggie said meekly.

"I hope not." Arthur told her.

"You want a son?" Maggie asked. "You know, you'll always have James. I know it's not the same, but your the closet thing he has to a father."

Arthur nodded.  
"I like James. But you're right, it's not the same." Arthur told her.

They watched the dawn creep over the kitchen. Soon enough, cook would be up and making breakfast for the staff and family.

"Sir, could I help?" Maggie asked suddenly.

Arthur looked at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well..." She blushed hotly. "With James, everything about him was easy. His birth was quick and I was back on my feet in a few hours. I'm not so small as your missus."

Arthur had to think for a moment. He wasn't sure what she was saying.  
"I could carry a baby for you. For you and your wife. I could have it and give the child to the both of you. I know you would take care of it. There never existed a more loving set of parents." Maggie said.

"Maggie." Arthur said feeling more and more confused.

He was suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Sir, these kinds of things are done all the time. It was done in the bible. Leah couldn't have a child, so she told her husband to Jacob lay with her servant... to conceive her children." Maggie said hopefully.  
"_Maggie_." Arthur said darkly.

His head suddenly swimming with the idea of being with Maggie for purposes of conception. Her beautiful hair and enchanting eyes. Her ripe, womanly body.

He shook his head.

"Maggie, this is not a suitable thing to discuss." Arthur said trying to compose himself.

"I was only wanting to help. I thought we got along quite well. You've been so good to me and James. I want to help you." Maggie said sadly.  
"Maggie, never bring this up again." Arthur said darkly as he was afraid to look at her. He stood and placed his plate and glass in the sink.

He didn't look back at the pretty maid as he raced upstairs to be with his wife again.

~ Ariadne was _almost_ satisfied with the final touches of her new home. She suspected she would never be completely happy with the look of each room, but she had to admit, the decorators had done very well. The wallpaper was a fern green with rich, detailed scowl work in ivory.

It was something she had seen in Paris and wanted to imitate in her own home.

The furniture in the front parlor was leather and oak. A dark and masculine color pallet for Arthur to do his work in. This room would serve as the library and would be for Arthur's use for when he had to entertain his business partners and friends.

She had a smaller, more feminine, parlor that was for the ladies; just off of the kitchen.

Ariadne was also pleased with the nanny she had taken on. An older woman who had taken care of the children in an old family for years. The nanny, Mrs. Hanna, regularly knit sweaters and socks for her former charges, despite the fact all of them were grown.

For the first time in a very long time, Ariadne felt content and happy. Her husband was making love to her almost every morning, her home was in working order and ready to receive visitors, and she hoped to find out she was pregnant any day.

Her cycle was supposed to start the day before yesterday, yet there had been no symptoms of it. No cramps or other signs she was to expect a normal monthly. She hadn't told Arthur yet and wanted to wait until she knew for certain.

The past eight months in New York had been wonderful. The city was amazing and she had made many friends so far. She attended woman's groups and hosted many of them herself. They all talked politics, novels that were not romances, history and even business. It was like a new life had opened up to her.

Her intellect and imagination had been so awakened. Ariadne had started writing again and was published in a ladies journal on the importance of women in government. It was a racy article that seemed to garnish her much fame with the suffrage crowd

If she had known such a world existed, she would have begged Arthur to leave Blue Rivers long before.

Lady Percy was still pleasantly confused. She often asked wandered around the home, but was a passive member of the family. Calling people by different names and asking where her mother was. She would sit quietly in the woman's meetings as they talked politics and commented on how lovely Queen Victoria and Albert are when the discussions became too intense. A thing that always amused the group of ladies.

The family celebrated Christmas in style that year. A large tree in the front parlor and presents for the happy children to open on Christmas morning.

It was hard to believe James was only the son of the maid; he was included in the family's present opening that Christmas. The little boy given generous gifts of a baseball bat, ball and glove by Arthur and told he would teach him to play.

Sometimes it felt like the line that kept James as Maggie's son was vanishing. It seemed as if Arthur wanted to adopt the little boy. He was doing everything but eating dinner with the family nowadays. He was Phillipa's constant companion when they were home.

Arthur insisting it was only right, seeing as how he was her half brother.

Still, the idea troubled Ariadne.

Why would Arthur want a son with her, when he already seemed to have one?

She jumped at hearing the front door buzz.  
"I'll get it, Miles." Ariadne said as she was closer to the door then he was.

Miles looked offended.  
"Madam." He said curtly. As if she had suggested doing something completely improper.

"I'm sorry, Miles." She said with a little smile.  
She waited in Arthur's parlor as she decided the best place to put the newly framed photographs of herself and Arthur. As well as the large picture of Olivia on a tricycle.

The little girl looking very pompous on the much beloved present Arthur had gotten her for her second birthday.

She smiled at her baby.

'_Can't wait for a new one_.' She thought happily as Olivia had grown up far too fast.

"Mrs. Elizabeth Richards." Miles announced as he showed the visitor to the front parlor.

Ariadne jumped and turned to see her mother.


	67. Chapter 67

2.

~ "Mother!" Ariadne cried. Her hands going to her collar as she felt her heart race.

She was so unprepared to see this woman. Now, to have her standing before her, Ariadne felt like a silly little girl who was in trouble.

"Ariadne. Hello, dear." her mother said stiffly.

Elizabeth Richards was a regal looking woman. Her body was small, but very willowy. Her Gibson girl hairstyle sat perfectly quaffed and her dress was a pristine powder blue.

"Bring us tea." Mrs. Richards ordered Miles.

The congenial butler looked to Ariadne, who nodded.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Ariadne breathed. The shock was still making her heart race and she felt all her defenses were useless against this surprise attack.

"I came to see you. I've heard all over Philadelphia how you and your husband have come back to New York. I thought we agreed you would stay in England." The regal woman said as she took a seat in one of the leather chairs.

Ariadne sat meekly in front of her. Her posture snapping up and she tried to look lady like.

"There's a war on, mother. Arthur didn't want us anywhere near it." Ariadne told her.

"Yes, I read the papers, dear. I know what a war is." Mrs. Richards said. "This does not abate the fact you have returned to the country without a letter of warning. We agreed, some time ago, you would marry this Arthur person, and live in England."

Ariadne shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Well... I thought you didn't want any further correspondence from me." Ariadne told her as an excuse.  
"I would have appreciated some type of warning that you were close by. A friend of a friend says you have been hosting woman's meetings in this house. Adding onto the scandal of your marriage and child." Mrs. Richards said dryly.

"A friend of a friend? The gossipers you call your inner circle?" Ariadne said with a laugh. She suddenly found the whole thing very funny. Of course her mother was humiliated to have to hear from a third party that she was back in America.

"Not only that, but it has been brought to my attention that you have been writing scandalous things in rogue woman's magazines about the voting issue." Mrs. Richards snapped.

Ariadne almost laughed. Almost.

"Did you read the article?" Ariadne asked.

Her mother gave her a hateful look.

"Ariadne, I think it's best you and that husband of yours make no immediate trips to Philadelphia. I can't have my friends knowing too much about you. As it is, I tell them that you are well enough and that is all I care to comment on the matter. I would rather not think I have a daughter at all." Mrs. Richards was going on a tangent now.

Ariadne interrupted her.  
"Don't you want to see my daughter?" Ariadne asked suddenly.

Mrs. Richards looked ready to kill.

"Why on _earth_ would I want such a thing? Why would I want to see the evidence of your downfall?" The older woman said maliciously.

"Because she's your grandchild. She's my daughter. I named her Olivia." Ariadne said sadly.

She wasn't used to people not adoring Olivia.

"Mother?" Ariadne asked hopefully.

"Ariadne, I have had to endure so much ridicule and heartbreak because of you." Mrs. Richards said with a steel voice. "I have no desire to see your bastard."

"She's not a bastard, she's my daughter." Ariadne told her. "Arthur loves her like she was his."

"I'm sure he tells you that."

"Arthur and I are wanting more children." Ariadne said hopefully.

"I would advise against that." her mother said. "You were always a selfish little pig and I highly doubt you can take care of the child you have."

"Arthur thinks I'm a very good mother." Ariadne said.

She couldn't hide the hurt in her voice. What her mother had said was like a knife going into her body. She felt tears well up.

"Here." Ariadne said as she suddenly stood and pulled the picture of Olivia off the mantle piece. "This is Olivia. She just turned two years old."

Mrs. Richards looked away from the photograph.

"Mother, please look at her." Ariadne pleaded.

"I told you once, you were dead to me." Mrs. Richards said stiffly.

"Then why did you come here?" Ariadne barked. "You could have sent another hurtful letter. Proper lady indeed! That last letter was written as if you were a common charwoman!"

Mrs. Richards looked highly offended.

Ariadne felt the rush of joy at upsetting her.

"You came to see if I was miserable. You wanted to come here and gloat over my unfortunate life, didn't you?" She snapped. "It would have made you so pleased to find my little necessary marriage was to a man who beats me, or chases after other women. Nothing is further from the truth, mother."

She plucked up the photograph of herself with her handsome husband.

"Arthur is wonderful. He loves me. I think he loved me the moment he met me. He has never treated me poorly. I know how that upsets you!" Ariadne accused.

Mrs. Richards stole a quick look at the framed photograph.

She suddenly stood. Her regal countenance made her think of Olivia.

'_So that's where Olivia gets it from._' Ariadne thought. Remembering how all her life, Olivia had this odd self possessed air about her. It was the same mannerisms as Mrs. Richards.  
"I suppose I should tell you now that your father has died. He passed away just before Christmas. I had heard about your return to America a month before that, but decided not to visit you." Mrs. Richards said coldly as she secured her gloves to leave.

Miles had come in with the tea.

"Oh, I won't be staying. Take it back." Mrs. Richards said critically.  
"Daddy died?" Ariadne whispered.

A hole ripping in her chest as she felt all the air leave the room.  
"How?" She asked.  
"He was never right after your shame. He had a stroke, then he died." Mrs. Richards said stiffly as she made to leave.  
She looked at Ariadne.

"Don't look so downhearted, dear." She said in that cold, detached ice queen way. "After you shamed your father, I assumed you didn't care for him."

"You know I loved daddy." Ariadne said mournfully as she started to cry. "You could have at least told me he was sick. I would have come-"

"Don't be ridiculous, your father never wanted to see you again. He was quite clear on that." Mrs. Richards snapped. "And do not expect to get anything in the way of an inheritance. You were cut from the estate after your shame."

"Mother, my husband owns ten factories here in America and one in Canada. He also pioneered telephone service in England before we left. You and daddy were cash poor social climbers who no doubt have a legacy of bad debts that you hide more then my shame." Ariadne said as she sat numbly down on the leather sofa. "My husband is a very good, and rich man; I'm a published writer. You have nothing I want."

"I'll tell you what you are, dear. You are a common _whore_. One who spread her legs to any dog of a man when the heat came over her!" Mrs. Richards spat angrily.

"You leave this girl alone!" Came a sharp, formidable voice.

Ariadne snapped to standing as Lady Percy, looking clean but frightful in her old age, stared down Mrs. Richards.

"Who are you, _Madam_?" Mrs. Richards started.  
"Who am I? You stand here like a filthy tart in my own home and have the nerve to ask who I am?" Lady Percy spat. "I am Lady Persephone Bradford. I don't suppose the name means anything to you. A trollop such as yourself will not know about the social circles a proper lady engages herself in."

Ariadne stared in utter shock at Lady Percy. The old woman had not spoken like this since before her illness.  
"Miles?" Lady Percy called out. The butler appeared as if by magic. "See this, woman, for lack of a better word, out. And take care not to let this kind of person into this house again. I won't stand for it."

"Yes, your ladyship." Miles said and nodded to Mrs. Richards.

"Why I never!" Mrs. Richards exclaimed in shock.  
"Oh I suspect you have. Do you think I didn't suspect your ill breeding the moment I saw you? You needn't have opened your mouth to give yourself away. To come into a fine home and insult my beloved family member is inexcusable. I shall write the necessary letters to all of the county and to the families in London about you... Mrs..." Lady Percy searched for a name.  
"Elizabeth Richards." Ariadne offered helpfully.

"Yes, Elizabeth Richards. I will make certain you will not be received in any homes this season!" Lady Percy spat as if it was the last word.

Mrs. Richards stared down Lady Percy. The dragon woman, who once ruled Blue Rivers so well stared right back.

"Mrs. Richards, let me see you out." Miles said delicately.

Ariadne watched as her mother huffed and turned away. Muttering darkly to herself.

Lady Percy and Ariadne stood in silence as the only the ticking of the grandfather clock was heard.  
"Lady Percy, that was marvelous!" Ariadne finally said.

Lady Percy turned to the younger woman. Her face just as confused as it had been since her illness.  
"What was, dearest?" She asked pleasantly.

Ariadne shook her head.

Lady Percy came up to her and gently clasped her face in her old, withered hands.  
"Oh, such a pretty girl. You'll be splendid at your coming out party. I so look forward to sponsoring you in front of the queen. Have you attended to your dress already?" The old lady asked pleasantly.

Lady Percy was lost in time again. Who knew who she thought Ariadne was right now.  
"Not yet, Lady Percy." Ariadne said as she started to cry from happiness. She wasn't sure why Lady Percy, in her confusion, had been able to vanquish her mother when she never could.

"I just found out my father died." Ariadne said sadly.

"Oh, dearest!" Lady Percy said gently. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

Ariadne nodded as Lady Percy did seem upset for her.  
"You can spend the summer with me here at Blue Rivers if you like." the older lady offered.

"That will be nice." Ariadne said as Lady Percy laced her arms through hers and they walked out of the parlor.


	68. Chapter 68

3.

~ Arthur was in a good mood, but he was late getting home that evening. He had been too caught up in the hurried and enjoyable life of his work.

It was pleasant for him to be back in the world of his factories and business. The war was going splendidly, in that he was making a great deal of money by selling weapons to England.

It was good for him to be back in the city he grew up in. To see children on the streets that reminded him of himself as a boy. The hustle and hectic nature of New York thrilled him and he wondered if he had been sleeping while at Blue Rivers. That impressive manor house seemed to belong to another time.

Not the city. New York of 1915 was big, crowded and promised nothing short of a grand future.

It was dark before he finally made it home. The lights in the front parlor were dim and he knew Ariadne must be angry he was so late.

The house was dark and strangely still. As if everyone had suddenly left and no one was at home.

Such a thing was not possible. Someone was always home. A maid or some servant who would greet him at the door. But there was nothing but a dark hallway and rooms to greet the master of the house today.

"Hello?" Arthur called out.

Out of the shadows, a figure emerged.

Maggie appeared and took his hand, guiding him to a more secluded spot under the stairs.  
"Maggie, what's going on? Why are all the lights out?" Arthur demanded roughly.

He had remembered her offer and pulled away from her.

"Arthur." She whispered and looked worriedly upstairs.

She swallowed hard.

"Lady Percy has just passed away." she said.

~ Ariadne sat beside the still form of the formidable old woman.

Lady Percy had been so alert today. She had attacked Ariadne's mother with such an impressive fire, Ariadne wished she had been closer to the old woman while she was still in her right mind.

After dinner, Lady Percy complained she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. The nurse had taken her upstairs to her room, prepared her night clothes, and came back to find her charge had died while sitting up in her rocking chair. Her beloved doll, clutched tightly in her hand.

"Oh, Aunt Percy." Ariadne said sadly as she wished she could talk to the old woman one last time.

For some reason, she wanted Lady Percy back. Not the old woman with the dementia and the passive confusion. She wanted the no nonsense Lady Percy she had first met at Blue Rivers. The woman who had helped to deliver Olivia and made Ariadne not so afraid.

"I had hoped there would be another baby for you to help me with." Ariadne said out loud and sniffed back a tear. "Now, you've left me and I'm not sure what to do."

It came into Ariadne's head then. A ghost of what the old woman would say.

Lady Percy's voice rolled into her imagination and spoke to her.  
_'Why, whatever do you need my help with, child? Don't you American's know everything? With your telephones and automobiles?'_ Lady Percy asked.

'_I just, I felt more put together with you around. Even when you weren't yourself._' Ariadne thought in her made up conversation.

'_Well, I certainly haven't been myself the past year, have I?_' Lady Percy scoffed. '_Still, there are worse things._'

Ariadne looked at Lady Percy's body.

Her thoughts of what the old woman would say next reaching her as if they were having a real conversation.

'_I must tell you, I do not care for that woman who came to see us today. Totally inexcusable to have a woman like that in your home._' Lady Percy said hotly.

_'Oh?_' Ariadne asked.

'_Yes. A woman like that will never be allowed in proper society. You take care to stay away from that sort. Such bad manners! She will only provide a negative future for you.'_ Lady Percy informed her tartly.

Ariadne sniffled back a tear.

'_Thank you, Lady Percy for telling her off. No one does it better then you._' she thought.

'_Well of course not._' Lady Percy snapped. '_I do what needs to be done. I look after my own. You and Arthur are my family, and so is Olivia._'

Ariadne smiled.

'_Now, child._' Lady Percy went on. '_Don't worry what that trollop said to you. I have it on good authority that you are an excellent mother, and you will be an excellent mother again, very soon._'

'_Really?_' Ariadne asked in her mind.

'_Really._' Lady Percy assured her.

Ariadne imagined the old woman sitting in her parlor at Blue Rivers then. Content and pleased with herself.

'_Now! No more worries or tears. It's all wetness and nothing profits from it._' Lady Percy added as she faded out of Ariadne's mind.

Ariadne wanted to ask the ghost of the old woman to stay, but she blinked and came back to the real world.

~ Arthur found his wife sitting in Lady Percy's little bedroom. The old woman laid out in her bed looking peaceful. Her wrinkled skin was gray and she had lost that spark that made Lady Percy a true force.

"Ariadne?" Arthur whispered.

She looked up at him. Tears brimming in her eyes.

She sighed.

"She ate dinner, then she came upstairs with the nurse, then she was gone." his wife told him. A lacy handkerchief went to her mouth as she was obviously fighting back tears.

Arthur nodded.

"Dose Phillipa know yet?"

"No, I wanted to wait till the morning. We can tell her then." Ariadne said and smoothed out Lady Percy's dress.

"I'm sorry." Arthur said.

Despite Lady Percy's rudeness and coldness to them when they first met; the old woman had become a apart of their family. Ariadne had grown fond of her after she helped with Olivia's birth. He understood that it was hard to lose her.

"The undertaker will be here soon to take her away." Ariadne said as he finished smoothing out Lady Percy's hair and dress. "I set out a dress for her to be buried in."

Arthur saw the nice, but very old fashioned dress hanging on the wardrobe door.

"We can't take her back to England." Arthur said softly. "It's not a war related emergency."

"I know. I've talked about it at length with Miles. We think it would be best to have her placed in a mausoleum. We could move her back to Blue Rivers when the war is over." Ariadne told him.

Arthur nodded.

He went to stand beside his wife. Looking at Lady Percy now, there was nothing so intimidating about her now.

A soft knock on the door, and Miles entered.

"They've come for her." Was all the butler said.

Then just like that, Lady Percy was gone. Maggie remade her bed, packed her clothes for the attic and her room was empty as if she never existed at all.

~ "My mother was here today." Ariadne said numbly as Arthur prepared for bed that night.

She was laying down on her side of the bed, her face was to the wall. She hardly said a word to him since they took Lady Percy away.

"Your mother?" Arthur questioned. In over two years of marriage, that woman was never spoken of. Especially not since the incident with Mrs. Abbott.

"What did she want?" Arthur asked gently.

"To ask why I came back to America. It seems I've been disgracing her all the way to Philadelphia with my woman's group and my articles." Ariadne told him. Her voice cold and detached. "Also that my father had died last winter."

Arthur said nothing.

He knew Ariadne was very close to her father.

"I'm sorry." Arthur whispered as he finally joined her in their bed.

His long body spooning around hers.

"It was like she wanted to hurt me. When she said it. She told me I basically killed daddy when I shamed him." Ariadne wept.

"If I had been there-"

Ariadne suddenly laughed.

"I wish you had been there." She told him with her sudden glee. "Just so you could have seen Lady Percy attack her. She came out of her confusion just long enough to tell the woman off. She was like a dragon slayer. You know how she used to talk to us? That was nothing to how she took my mother down."

Arthur said nothing, but was pleased his wife was happy about something.

"Do you want to go to Philadelphia, see the graveside?" He asked.

"My mother made it clear I wouldn't be welcome. She didn't even want to see the pictures of Olivia. Said I was a bad mother" Ariadne told him.

"She hasn't seen you in years. Doesn't even know her grandchild. What does she know?" Arthur said comfortingly. "I think your a very good mother, that's all that matters."

"Arthur, we've been trying for a year for another baby. I hasn't happened yet. What if it never happens?" She asked.

Arthur briefly thought about Maggie and her offer.

He shook his head and tried not to think about going to the pretty maid until she conceived his child to give to his wife.

Arthur gave her a reassuring squeeze from behind as he buried his nose in her hair.

"Everyone that matters is already under this roof." he whispered.


	69. Chapter 69

4.

~ Arthur, knew he would wake up before dawn and wasn't shocked when his body roused itself out of dreams at four in the morning.

He didn't wake Ariadne up. She had cried herself to sleep over grief from learning her father had passed, her mother's visit, and Lady Percy's sudden passing.

Arthur's body was alive and alert as he went downstairs for his morning coffee.

Maggie was there, just as he suspected she would be.

"Morning." She said simply.

"Morning." He mirrored back.

They said nothing else as she poured him coffee.

"Lady Percy will be laid to rest here in America?" Maggie finally asked.  
"I know it's not what she would have wanted, but with the war, taking her back to England would be impossible." Arthur told her.

Maggie nodded and they let the silence fester between them.

"Maggie, I think we need to talk about what you said before. About your offer." Arthur said at last. Plucking up his courage. "You know, you must know that... that is wasn't appropriate to proposition me. I'm your employer and while we care for James, we can't go beyond that relationship."

"I know it's not discussed in polite society, sir." She told him meekly.

"It's not to be discussed at all. I would never betray my wife." Arthur told her.

His blood felt hot and tight in his body as he suddenly wanted Maggie. Her long red, hair, neatly braided, enticed him. He wanted to run his hands through it, wanted her pale, soft body next to his.

He shook his head.  
"I believe that marriage is sacred. If my wife and I can't conceive a child between us, then that's what we will have to deal with in life." Arthur told the pretty maid.

He swallowed hard as she looked upset.

"I wasn't trying to seduce you, sir." Maggie whispered. "I just know that your wife wants another baby. She want's her _husband's _child. I could help the both of you. She wouldn't be in any danger from the delivery and you would have your son."

"Maggie, I'm not..." he swallowed hard as he chased away images of himself and the pretty maid in the throws of passion out of his mind.  
"_Maggie_." he said more assertively. "This will be the last we speak of this. I don't want to have to ask you to leave this house."

Maggie looked horrified.

"You would throw me out, sir? You would send me away?" She asked in a broken voice.

"If we can't let this matter drop; I will." Arthur told her.

She suddenly looked ready to cry.

"Maggie." Arthur said reaching out for her hand.  
"I'm sorry, sir." She wept. "I thought we were friends. I thought..."

"Maggie." Arthur tried to comfort her as her she seemed inconsolable.

"I always thought of you as James' father. I liked to think of you like that." She said softly. "I'm just a fool. I always believed James' father when he said he loved me. But now I know he didn't."

She let out a sob.

"I just thought this would make you happy. I know you lover her, I know you could never care about me. She's so elegant and beautiful. What am I; compared to her?"

After that, Arthur wasn't sure what happened. His pretty maid was in tears, he was trying to comfort her. Trying to sooth out his harsh words and rejection of her. Before he knew what was happening, he was kissing her. His hands pulling off her robe and untying her night dress. Her bare breasts exposed to the light of dawn as he fell under her spell.

Suddenly, he pulled sharply away as if bitten.

Maggie was sitting on the kitchen table, her night dress falling off her shoulders and exposing her delicate flesh to him. Her legs spread wide around his waist as she looked perplexedly back at him.

He averted his eyes away from the sight of perfectly formed breast that beckoned to him.

"Arthur?" Maggie pleaded roughly.

Arthur said nothing as he backed away from her. His body bursting angrily to life as he felt ashamed of himself.

~ Like he was fleeing hell itself, he ran upstairs and into his bedroom. Ariadne was still sleeping as he crawled back into bed with her. His need hot and demanding as he knew he has been so close to giving into Maggie. Of betraying his wife's trust.

He was close to being carnal with the pretty maid right there on the kitchen table. The feel of her lips on his still made his body tingle.

"Ariadne?" Arthur said feeling afraid as he nudged her awake.

She moaned slightly and rolled over.

"Arthur? What time is it?" She asked groggily.

"It's early. Listen, I think-" He bit his tongue. He wanted to tell his wife that Maggie had to leave. That she needed to leave the house that very day.

But he knew Ariadne would ask all kinds of questions he couldn't answer. Questions about Maggie and about James. She knew he cared about James and if Ariadne suspected anything between himself and Maggie...

Ariadne was looking up at him questioningly.

_'I've done nothing wrong. We kissed is all. We talked, we kissed, I saw part of her body exposed... I... We kissed. I've done nothing wrong. I wasn't unfaithful._' He thought rapidly.

"Arthur?" Ariadne questioned.

"Um. I just want you to know that if we never have another baby, that it's okay. We are... we are very blessed and if we have to adopt, there are plenty of children who need a good home." Arthur stammered instead.

Ariadne looked at him strangely for a moment.

As if she were trying to decipher a puzzle.

"Are you alright, Arthur? She asked. "You're breathing hard."

"I'm fine. I just... I want you to know another baby is not the most important thing in the world. Alright?" He asked.

"Alright." she said softly running a hand over his arm.

"You know, I was thinking, we've come a long way since we first met at that train station." She said dreamily as he rolled over in bed to be closer to her warm, soft body. "Since we were two complete strangers who married each other. All for the sake of how others would see us. Now, it's like we don't care how others see us."

Arthur nodded. It wasn't so very long ago that he met his convenient wife. A silly, tacky hat on her head. Her eyes, wide with nerves. How they had regarded one another those first few days and weeks. How intolerant he had been, how head strong she would act.

"Would you did again? Would you marry me?" She asked.

He smiled.

"Absolutely." He whispered as he kissed her.

_April, 1915_

~ Ariadne had to re-read the pictured article again. She could believe it.

Her friends had been talking about nothing but this new book for a weeks now. How it was the most wonderful and tragic love story they had ever read.  
_Rouge Knight_ had been at the top of the best seller list and an article about it was featured in the New York Times.

She stared open mouthed at the picture of the author. She would know him anywhere. His enchanting, mischievous looks. His dramatic eyes that caught her breath.

Mr. Eames stared back at her in a graceful black and white picture. His book was being called a new breed of romance. All of her friends had been talking about it, yet, she hadn't put it together until now that it's author was her Mr. Eames.

"Something wrong?" Arthur asked her as she couldn't stop looking at the newspaper picture.

The family was at the breakfast table. Phillipa was eating toast and jam. Olivia was wanting to skip the toast and just licking the jam off the bread.

Arthur had to scold his youngest to get her to eat right.

Olivia gave him a fierce look of sheer defiance.

"I'm fine." Ariadne said feeling troubled.

Eames was here. He was in New York. He would be here for a week.

She remembered to breath again as she carefully read the article.

_~ C. R. Eames of London England was a world traveler and writer for small publications until war broke out in Europe. He became an officer in the royal infantry where he served almost six months before becoming wounded in trench warfare._

_ While in recovery, he wrote everyday. In just two weeks, he produced Rouge Knight, he debut novel. _

_ Rouge Knight is an unusual love story of a fallen knight in the court of a king. He works as a mercenary who seduces the queen and in doing so, starts a war. The novel is being called scandalous by some, and brilliant by others. _

_ The story of infidelity and love has given Mr. Eames a following of mostly women. Many of whom are married. _

_ This asks the question, is it possible for a woman to be married and not be happy? ~_

~ Ariadne felt her heart speed up. Eames would be at a local book store that afternoon. She would be there. She had to be there.


	70. Chapter 70

**Part XVI**

** Resolved**

1.

~ The book store in New York was crowded with women vying for a place in line. All of them peeping eagerly at the handsome writer of the popular love story.

Ariadne had to buy the hard back edition, a lovely red cover with a black knight emblazoned on it, in order to meet the author. She wished she had been able to read the book as it was all these ladies seemed to talk about. Each of them in love with the protagonist William. However, some expressed feeling of want for the dark king who took over a kingdom with his armies and took a fair princess for his bride.

Ariadne had to hold fast to Olivia's hand as the rambunctious two year old wanted to pull away from her all the time.

For a moment, Ariadne felt some empathy with her own mother. How horrible it must have been for the tightly controlled Victorian lady to have a daughter who was always pulling away from you. Olivia was only two, still a baby, but soon enough, she would be a young woman who was determined to be independent.

She was so lost in these thoughts that she didn't notice the line had moved.

"To Hester Withehall." The blousy woman in front of her said as Ariadne took advantage of the woman's ample size and concealed herself for a few more seconds.

She could hear his voice now. She could hear her Eames' voice. He was thanking the woman for meeting him. His accents and soft words carrying upwards as the blousy woman seemed giddy with delight.

Ariadne was about to go next when the blousy woman couldn't contain herself a moment longer.

"Oh Mr. Eames, I'm dying to know." She burst out. "Was Rosalyn based on a real person? Only, you described her so well. Eyes like a doe who had never seen a winter, hair like fairy princess and lips that needed to be kissed." The woman asked. Obviously repeating the description from the book. "The way she defied her husband and survived that horrible attack from her own maid. It sent chills down my back!"

Ariadne felt her brow furrow as she looked over her freshly purchased book. She flipped to the first time she caught the name Rosalyn and wished she had time to read it.

She heard Mr. Eames laugh.

"Rosalyn was based on a friend of mine. A very dear friend who I cherish more then anyone. In a perfect world, we would have been together, I assure you, darling. But life is unscripted, we must take what is offered and be grateful to have loved anyone." Eames said sagely.

Ariadne crinkled her nose.

The voice sounded like Eames, but was that her friend? Her Mr. Eames would have told the truth.

_'Yes, it was based on the girl who broke my heart. Who lied to me and told me she preferred her loveless marriage to an old stick in the mud, over cavorting naked with me through the sheets all day.' _

That was her friend Mr. Eames. What was going on here?

The blousy woman praised his book to the hilt and she could almost see her friend now as the book shop owner asked her to move.

Then, Ariadne had no cover. No protection or camouflage. There, sitting at a little table, surrounded by his freshly printed books in their neat red bindings, sat her Mr. Eames.

How dashing he looked just now. His hair was shorter, but he had recklessly grown the beard she hated. Yet, it wasn't so bad on him. He had kept it neatly trimmed and it only looked as if he had been too busy slaying dragons to have time for a proper shave.

"Hello." Was all she said to him as she place her new copy of _Rouge Knight_ on his table.

"Hello." Eames said as she looked her over in wonderment.

"Hello." The book shop owner said smiling to her.

"Hello." Ariadne smiled back at the book shop owner.  
Hello!" Olivia called out to all of them. Her face screwing into a scowl as she hoped to end this pointless conversation.

Eames looked delightedly over at Olivia.

"My, my. What a nice young lady you have with you." Eames said as he looked slightly embarrassed.

"Yes, she is." Ariadne said uncomfortably.

She watched as Mr. Eames looked awkward. He fumbled her copy of his book and looked for the signing page. He seemed to think for a long time before he found what he wanted to write.

"You didn't get her name, sir. What's you name, madam?" The book shop owner looked worried.

"I know her name." Eames grumbled.

Her friend looked up at her.  
"I have to sign a few more copies, then I'll be free." He told her. "Can you stay for about an hour?"

She didn't nod or shake her head. She was too captivated by him.

"There are things to discuss." Eames said softly. His eyes sparking like they used to.


	71. Chapter 71

2.

~ Ariadne waited in the comfortable leather chair at the back of little book shop. It was an unusual business approach to selling books. This place sold books, new and used of all variety. But also expensive stationary, pens, personalized invitations and typewriters. It was a place Ariadne could lose herself in for days on end.

Olivia, disgusted with how quite and uninteresting life had become in this place, curled up in her mother's lap and took a nap.

Ariadne balanced her daughter and her newly purchased book as she read.

_~ Rosalyn had escaped her bedchambers that night. Let her husband, the king, wonder where she was. She no longer cared. She was filled with a reckless desire for her William. She had to see him, they belonged together. The chance encounter at the lake, she felt her unexplored womanhood open and bloom like an all consuming fire. _

_ All she could think of was her knight. Of how she wanted him to ravish her, no matter the consequences. ~_

"Ariadne?" Eames' voice came and broke her out of the heated world of William and Rosalyn.

Ariadne dropped her book as she secured Olivia and stood up.

She watched in wonderment, as her friend bent over to pick it up for her.

"Here." He said shyly as he gave it back to her.

"Thank you." Ariadne said as she shifted Olivia in her arms. Her daughter was growing heavy. Too heavy for her to carry much longer.

"She's gotten big. It's been almost a year since I've seen her." Eames commented.

Olivia was an appropriate distraction. They could discuss her.

"Yes." Ariadne said flushing red with embarrassment.

She couldn't think of anything to say to him as they stood awkwardly in the almost empty maze of shelves.

"You went to fight. You were injured." Ariadne accused suddenly.

Eames nodded.  
"I thought you were just going to be a war correspondence." She said softly.

"Can't a gentleman do both?" He laughed nervously.

She didn't laugh.  
"No, I guess not. Why I got injured." Eames said.

Ariadne noticed a cane in her friend's hand. It didn't detract from his looks at all. If anything, it made him look more dashing and dangerous.

"My country is at war." Was all he said as an explanation.

"Your injury?" She prompted.

"Will heal." He assured her. "I wasn't careful, bit stupid really." He laughed.

"The paper said you started writing in the hospital." Ariadne said.

He nodded.

"I woke up, seized with this story that I couldn't write it down fast enough." He explained.

"All while in recovery." Ariadne said feeling herself blush.

"Yes, well what was I supposed to do? I take a week off in London to converse with my editor. I come back to Blue Rivers to find the love of my life and her husband had vanished, taking my dear old aunt and young cousin with them." Eames said coldly.

She stepped away from him then. His eyes looked dangerous.

"Eames, Arthur and I always intended to move back to New York, because of the war." She tried to explain.

"It would have been so hard to drop me a line on that wouldn't it?" He accused. "No, I had to come back and learn from the gardener my only family was gone for America without so much as a goodbye."

"Eames, the way we left things..." Ariadne said feeling ashamed of herself.  
"How we left things. We left things unfinished, didn't we?" Eames snarled.

She felt suddenly angry at her old friend.

"Eames, you were trying to have my husband declared dead. Why? So I could be with you? After an acceptable amount of grieving, I could come to you like Rosalyn to William?" She snapped at him.

Eames didn't look at her. Some fire had gone out of his eyes.

"Eames, how long did you know that Arthur was alive? How long did you let me think I was a widow?" Ariadne asked.  
"I didn't know. I never received any word from Mr. Cobb. I told Cobb the night Arthur returned. I was just as surprised as you." Eames said.

He looked sad as they exchanged looks.

Olivia roused from her half sleep and wanted to be put down.

"Mama!" She cried as Ariadne was reluctant to let go of a little troublemaker in a book shop.

"I came to America to see you. I was planing to visit your home later this week." Eames said at last. "I had to see you."

"You've seen me." Ariadne said stubbornly.

He looked saddened by her coldness.  
"How is Phillipa liking New York? How is Aunt Percy?" He asked.

Ariadne drew in a deep breath.  
"Lady Percy had been ill for sometime. That's why we brought her with us to New York. We didn't want to leave her behind." Ariadne explained. "She passed away over a month ago. It was very peaceful."

Eames' face fell slightly. He seemed to steel himself before nodding.  
"I see." He said at last.

"Phillipa is well." Ariadne said brightly. "She's in a good school."

"How are you?" He asked looking over her as Olivia squirmed in her arms.

Ariadne sat the two year old down and held fast to her hand.  
"I'm fine." She meekly as Olivia tried to escape to explore the book shop.

"Any little ones at home? I know you and Arthur were wanting to add on to the family." Eames asked gently.  
"No!" Olivia shouted as Ariadne tried to prevent her from escaping.  
"No, we haven't had the good fortune of a new edition." Ariadne said sadly. "Arthur says it doesn't bother him that we haven't had another child."  
"Does it bother you?" Eames asked curiously.

She refused to answer.  
"I would ask you to come over for dinner and see Phillipa." She said weakly.

"No, it wouldn't be appropriate." Eames said stoically. "I'll be leaving for England again soon."

"I'm sorry we left without a word." Ariadne said feeling terrible with how she left things with the man who had been her best friend at Blue Rivers.

"I know." He said. "I should thank you for looking after Lady Percy and Phillipa the way you did."

They looked at one another for a long time.  
"Can I ask you a favor?" He said shyly.

"What?" she said wondering what he could want.

He reached into he traveling back and pulled free a brownie camera.  
"My old picture of you was lost, remember? It was the one thing I missed most in the trenches. I had to summon you up from memory and my memory isn't that good." He said as he nodded for her to pose for a photograph.

"The last time you took my picture, Olivia wasn't even here." Ariadne said with a laugh.

She gave the camera a playful smile as Olivia scowled that the camera.

"She's not one for pictures, is she?" Eames laughed.

"No, Arthur is the worst shutter bug there is. That's what they call them; shutter bug. He's taken pictures over everything Olivia does." Ariadne laughed as Eames snapped another picture of her without her realizing it.

They stood awkwardly and looked at each other.

"It's getting late." Ariadne whispered. "I... I should go."

"Yes." Eames agreed.  
She stepped to him and they hugged.  
"Congratulations on your book. I'm so proud of you." She whispered.  
"Thank you." he said back.

They pulled away and she was crying.

"Mr. Eames? Do you ever think that maybe, if things were different, we would be right for each other?" She asked. She suddenly wanted her friend back. She missed those lazy days in their conservatory. The way he encouraged her to write. He was her friend when her marriage to Arthur was still so new and rough, they didn't know how to regard one another.

"I think about nothing else." Eames said with conviction. "I want nothing bad to happen to Arthur, but I sometimes think if it had been me that was your convenient husband, I would live forever in love with you. I would spend every waking moment making you happy."

Ariadne took a deep breath and tried not to cry.

She nodded, and pulled Olivia away from the ghosts of what might have been.  
"I think about that to." She whispered and left her friend standing alone in the book shop.

~ Much later, after Arthur was home and dinner was served and eaten, Ariadne opened Mr. Eames' book.

Her friend had dedicated to book to her. The slick printer's ink typed out:

** To my friend, Ariadne**

Below the dedication he had written that day to her.

_My dear friend Ariadne, _

_ For the second time in my life, I have no words to say. _

_The first was when we met, the second was today. _

_What's a writer to do with a girl who robs him of his words?_

_ C.R. Eames. _

She blinked out tears and folded the news article into the book.

She decided she couldn't bare to read it. Not just yet. Her wounds were still too raw and hurt too much. Eames' writing felt like an old friend and she knew if she read his book, there would be little to stop her from going to him.

She tucked the book in her bottom drawer and tried to forget it.

~ Arthur was late coming to bed that night.

"Long day?" She asked soberly.

He sighed and nodded.

"I know I keep complaining of Rockefeller, but you would think his son would be incompetent." Arthur grumbled. "If anything, he's more villainous then the old man."

She laughed as he husband crawled into bed with her.

"How was your day?" He asked.

"Good." Ariadne said honestly.

She bit her lip.  
"I have good news." She said at last.

"What?"

"You can't guess?" She blushed. Was he really going to make her say it? Were all men this stupid? How could he not see it?

"What?" He asked not understanding.

Shew smiled and shook her head.

"I didn't want to tell you till I was sure, but..." She said trying to find the words.

"Tell me what?" Arthur asked not following her.

"It seems I'm going to have your child, dear." She admitted with a mischievous grin.


	72. Chapter 72

** I'm still not happy with this chapter. I think because the end is near. **

** It would have been nice to keep it in the same time line and not jump 15 years ahead of time. But, needless to say A&A were very happy for those 15 years. It would have just been more chapters to an already very long story. **

** I would also like to send my thought and good wishes out to my readers in the North who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. If it means anything, I know what it's like to evacuate and see the destruction of a hurricane on your home. **

**Part XVII**

**Passing**

_Manhattan_

_September, 1930_

1.

~ Arthur could see his wife and daughter peeking out at him though the curtains of the dinning room. He knew they were curious as to their guest sitting in the front parlor. It wasn't everyday the Governor of New York, Franklin Roosevelt, came to the house.

"Very distressing times we find ourselves in, Arthur." Governor Roosevelt said.

The well polished politician spoke with conviction as Arthur listened politely. He didn't agree with everything this forward thinking man touted, but Arthur had to admit, Roosevelt was impressive.

"So who's to blame? Greed?" Arthur chuckled. "I wrote to ever news paper editor, senator and bank president I could find about the dangers of speculative lending and no one wanted to listen. People were allowed to buy stock on credit and created a bubble. Bubbles burst."

"Thank you chairman of the hindsight committee." Roosevelt huffed sarcastically. "I would remind you that speculative lending has created massive industry growth."

"Where's that growth now?" Arthur laughed. "I've seen people selling their cars at a loss. Evicted from their homes."

"This economic mess hasn't harmed you, Mr. Bradford." Roosevelt accused.

Arthur looked offended.  
"Nor you , Governor. I'm careful with my investments. I'm not a man who takes risks. Not with my money." Arthur snapped.

Roosevelt leaned back in his chair and observed his host.

"I was thinking of running for president." he said.  
"Of America?" Arthur asked.  
"No, of the New York fairy troop." Roosevelt griped.

"I think you would win, sir." Arthur retorted.

"Very amusing." Roosevelt laughed.  
"You just won your election as Governor. Now you want to take the country?" Arthur asked.  
"I think I can turn this country around." Roosevelt said.

"How?"

"That's what I came to see you about." Roosevelt said.  
"I see." Arthur smiled. "You think that because I saw the crash coming, I'll be able to fix it."

"I was thinking of infrastructure projects. Put Americans beck to work fixing roads and building bridges." Roosevelt told him.

"That will take a lot of roads and bridges. Where will the money come from to pay for it?" Arthur asked.

Roosevelt gave him a hard look.  
"Franklin, can I be honest with you?" Arthur asked.

"I won't forbid it." Roosevelt sighed.

"It's a fine idea, but you're talking about a massive project. One that will require capital to fund. You want to borrow money to pay for this? Your borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. That is exactly what go us into this mess."  
"Son, I have women and children starving to death in the land of plenty. It's only going to get worse as time goes by. You know what happening in Central Park right now? The homeless are setting up camps because there is nowhere they can go." Roosevelt told him.  
Arthur focused on all the horrible articles he had been reading lately. Things that scared his wife and children.

"If I make a run for the white house, I want you to be my financial adviser." Roosevelt offered.

Arthur stood and Roosevelt followed. The older man teetering on his own feet. Arthur pretended not to notice. No one spoke of Franklin Roosevelt condition. The fact that he would need a wheelchair soon was never brought up out of respect for the man.

"Please, think about it." Roosevelt said and offered his hand.  
Arthur shook it and watched Roosevelt leave.

Ariadne, Olivia, Maura and Katie barely skirted out of his way as he stepped into the hall.  
"Good heavens, Arthur, you have an excess of lovely women in your house." Roosevelt said with a smile.

Maura flushed red and grabbed Katie, the other maid, and hurried off.  
"My ward, Phillipa, is lately married. James is in school in Boston. Otherwise, they would have been here to eavesdrop to." Arthur said as he looked affectionately at his wife and daughter.

Olivia was seventeen this now and the image of her parents. The teenager was much taller then Ariadne was. She had a lean, willowy build that made her look like a swan turned human.

Arthur noticed his three sons were standing next to their older sister. Waiting to meet the governor of New York who had come to ask their father's advice.

"Governor Roosevelt, you remember my wife Ariadne? This is our daughter Olivia. She's seventeen. Our son, David is fourteen. Our other sons William and John, twelve and ten." Arthur said as each member of his family beamed back at him.

"Yes, Elanor spoke very highly of your writings with regard to suffrage and the rights of the poor." Roosevelt said shaking Ariadne's hand.

"She is a real inspiration to be around, sir." Ariadne said happily.  
The family watched as Arthur showed the Governor out.

~ "Daddy, are we poor?" Olivia asked that night at dinner.

"Olivia!" Ariadne chastised.

"No. We're not poor." Arthur told her. "What makes you think that?"

"Everyone else is. Just last week Laurie Winter's family was evicted from their home. They put their things out on the street. Could that happen to us?"

Arthur and Ariadne exchanged looks.  
"No, darling. This house is paid for, and I've no creditors. We're not poor." Arthur assured her.  
"What did Roosevelt want?" Ariadne asked as Arthur's three sons looked back at him expectantly.

"Wanted advice on how to fix this mess we're in." Arthur sighed.  
"I thought you said we weren't poor." Olivia cried out.  
"_We're_ not. But this financial situation will effect us all. People don't have money, my factories will stagnate. We won't produce anything." Arthur explained.  
"So we will _be_ poor?" Olivia asked. Her big brown eyes doing nothing to hide her fears.  
"Olivia, stop being so selfish." Ariadne scolded.  
"Mother, I don't want to live in Hoover-ville!" Olivia cried out in helpless teenage frustration.

"No one is living in Hoover-ville." Arthur announced.

"Dad, why doesn't Hoover just print more money?" John asked hopefully.

Arthur sighed.  
"Because that would devalue the money we already have. We can't fix this by printing money. If we did that, it would soon become worthless paper." Arthur explained.

John looked heart broken.

Ariadne ran her hand over his head lovingly. Her youngest looked up to his father so much, it endeared the little boy to her even more.

"Do you know how to fix the crash, Dad?" David asked hopefully.

Arthur thought a moment as his family listened.  
"It will take something bigger then what we have now. I've no idea how the government will pay for it." Arthur said sadly.

~ Arthur ran a hand over his right side. A painful twinging had been bothering him for months. He attributed it to the new cook's way of under cooking meat.

"Still bothering you?" Ariadne asked as they readied for bed.

"I'll see the doctor next week." Arthur told her as he climbed into bed.

"Arthur, are we really okay? I mean, there is no danger we could lose everything, is there?" Ariadne asked.  
"No, were fine." Arthur told her as the pain swelled up again. "I was careful to manager our accounts and we have cash in a safe deposit box. We're fine."

Ariadne nodded in relief.

Arthur winced at the pain in his side again.  
"Arthur?" Ariadne exclaimed as he broke out in a sweat.

He let out a groan of pain.

"Call... call an ambulance." He managed to get out before fainting.


	73. Chapter 73

2.

~ Ariadne waited in the hospital for the doctors to come out and tell her, her husband was fine. To lay off the beef and coffee, and take him home.

She knew something was wrong when she saw the serious expressions on their faces.

"Mrs. Bradford." the older doctor said. "It's diverticulitis. It's very advanced. If we had seen him months ago, maybe we could have done something."

"Wait." Ariadne said softly. Her mind was playing catch up. "Arthur is going to be alight. I mean, he just need to eat healthier. Right?" She asked hopefully.

The doctors exchanged looks.

"We have him on pain medications right now. But I'm afraid it's too late to operate." The older doctor said. "I'm very sorry."

~ Ariadne tried to compose herself. Tried not to faint. Arthur looked half dead already. His skin pasty and sticky. He was resting as she entered his hospital room.

"Arthur." She cried weakly as she sat beside him.  
"Hello, Madam." He teased as she took his cold, clammy hand.

She started to cry as she couldn't bare it. She couldn't face losing him. She wasn't ready to be a widow.

"Ariadne." Arthur said making her look at him.  
She sniffed and looked back at him.  
"I keep a copy of my life insurance in the safe deposit box at the bank. It's for over one million dollars. I got it right after the _Empress_ sank. I wanted you and Olivia provided for." He said.

"Arthur, don't talk like that." Ariadne said. "Your going to be fine."

Arthur shook his head.  
"That money will provide for you well enough for the rest of your life." Arthur whispered as he winced in pain.

"Arthur." She cried.

"Listen to me. I need to tell you something." Arthur told her.

She looked up at him and he took a deep breath.

"Do you remember our old maid Maggie? The one we brought over from England with us?" Arthur asked.  
"James' mother? The red head? She ran off with a butcher just before David was born. Left us with James to raise. Why?" Ariadne asked.

Arthur looked sad for a moment.  
"I kissed her. Back when we thought we couldn't get pregnant, she and I would talk. I kissed her, but I swear, that's where it ended." Arthur said shamefully. "I was _never _unfaithful to you. When she wanted to marry that butcher, I paid her to leave James with us. I knew her new husband would abuse the boy, so I gave her money to leave him with us."

Ariadne let out a laugh.  
"How long has this been weighing on your soul, Arthur?" She laughed as she held his hand. Trying to memorize his large, detailed hands.

"Since it happened." Arthur admitted. "I never let it happen again."

"Arthur, I don't care about Maggie. If I were a maid in your house, I would try to seduce you to." She laughed.

Arthur smiled.

"Ariadne, I couldn't ask for a better wife then you. I couldn't ask for a better mother to my children. The best investment I ever made was in you. I'm thankful each day I married you." He told her.

"Arthur, stop talking like that. Were going to take you home after you've had a rest, and you're going to start eating better." Ariadne snapped at him.

"Ariadne, I've always loved you. I know I don't show it very well. I'm not the romance writer Eames turned out to be." Arthur said sadly.

Ariadne bit her lip.  
"If I wanted Mr. Eames, I would have been with him." She told her husband. "I love you. I love the man who taught me to drive. Who demanded a perfect wife and got me instead. Who accepted my child as his own. I love _that _man."

"Never tell Olivia who her real father is." Arthur demanded sharply. "That's my dieing wish."

"You're not dieing!" Ariadne cried.  
"Ariadne." Arthur said soothingly as she started to weep.

He looked her over sadly.

"Madam, no more tears. Olivia is our _only_ daughter, I don't want her to ever think she's anything less than _my_ child." Arthur growled. "I don't want her questioning her identity. She's happier not knowing."

He winced in pain again as Ariadne nodded.  
"I want to be buried in the family plot." He told her.

She sniffed.  
"We never did get around to taking Lady Percy back to England." Ariadne laughed.

Arthur smiled.  
"She never complained about it." Arthur laughed and winced again. "Miles is buried there, and I would like it very much if you were buried next to me when the time comes."

Ariadne nodded.

"Thank you for marrying me." Arthur whispered as he held her hand.

~ Then, just like that, Arthur was gone. His life floated out of his body on one last breath and Ariadne felt herself alone in the room.


	74. Chapter 74

3.

~ Ariadne couldn't wait for all the guest to leave her alone so she could grieve for her husband. Arthur had been a respected business man and his sudden death had been a shock to their circle of friends. Franklin and Elanor Roosevelt even came to the wake and offered their condolences.

Her children were inconsolable; especially John. It was too much to ask that they say goodby to a father so young.

~ Cobb looked over Arthur's accounts with a critical eye.  
"Well, with the life insurance, the factories and other holdings, I'd feel comfortable saying you have enough to live on. But only for the next five or six _generations_." He told her.

Ariadne breathed a sigh of relief.

"Arthur provided well for you and the children. Don't worry." Cobb assured her.

Ariadne nodded and tried to banish the worry away. The cold creeper of what was being called the depression made her very nervous these days.

Men Arthur would have lunch with were leaping out of windows because of the crash. Everyday the papers were talking about the run on banks and the banks running out of money. Of life savings vanishing as banks closed their doors to customers.

"How are you holding up?" Cobb asked.

"Still can't believe he's gone. I keep thinking he's going to come through the door." Ariadne sighed.

"Well, that's normal." Cobb offered. "He was so young, and it happened so suddenly. His fathered died of the same thing. It might not be a bad idea for the boys get examined for this ailment."

Ariadne nodded sadly.

"What do I do now? I've been Arthur's wife since I was twenty one years old. How do I live without him?" She asked.

"You'll have me. You have your ladies group and friends, also your writing." Cobb said.

She shook her head and tried not to cry for the hundredth time.

_Manhattan _

_ June 1956_

~ Ariadne and Cobb looked at the massive television the Sears delivery man had brought into the house. It was built to look like a piece of fine finishing and had a record player and radio tucked away into the wooden paneling as well.

The salesman said it would last for years and be the focal point for all their entertaining.

It was bought on a whim and set up in Ariadne's sitting room. Arthur's parlor had not been touched or used since his death 25 years ago. Not even his telephone was updated or the pictures on the mantle piece changed. It was cleaned and dusted only, but never used. Ariadne preferred to keep it as a shrine to her late husband.  
"Faint hearts never won the day, dear." Cobb said and turned the dial.

Ariadne automatically took a step back as he TV hummed a little and slowly, an image appeared.

"What is it?" Ariadne asked worriedly as she could hear tinny laughter coming from the strange box.

"According to the paper," Cobb said with a scowl, "it's 'I Love Lucy'."

He sat in his chair and adjusted his glasses to look at the screen.

"Oh." Ariadne said as they nervously looked at the moving images of Lucy and her Cuban husband.

"Dom, this reminds me so much of when we installed the phones in Blue Rivers. Now I know how Lady Percy feels." She said sadly.

Her husband looked at her disapprovingly and she realized all her friends were right, he_ did_ look like J. Edgar Hoover in his old age.

Ariadne and Cobb had married ten years ago. It wasn't any grand, unrequited love that caused them to go to the same court house she had married Arthur in; that cold September day in 1912. Rather, it was the fact they were both getting older and were afraid of being alone.

Cobb wasn't particularly affectionate towards her, they seemed to exist as polite roommates. Her daughter Olivia thought the whole thing was scandalous.

"You're fifty five years old mother! That's too old to have a new husband!" She had proclaimed.

But Ariadne was sad and lonely after her oldest son David had died in Europe. He had been MIA for almost a year, and she later learned he had died in a Nazi POW camp just days before it's liberation.

His remains were brought back home to be laid to rest with his father, Lady Percy and Miles. Ariadne took some comfort that soon enough, she and Cobb would be laid to rest in the family plot as well.

Although what Cobb and Arthur would talk about in the afterlife now, she didn't like to think about.

Cobb had been there for the family after Arthur's death, but only as a friend. He took her boys to baseball games and walked Olivia down the aisle when she married that nice neighbor boy Edward Winters a few years before war broke out.

Edward had come home from the Pacific and Olivia couldn't seem to stop having children. It eased Ariadne's sadness to have children around her who called her Nana. So many grandchildren in fact she often forgot their names.

Her youngest John had taken over Arthur's business from Cobb when he turned twenty and managed it very well. John was the spitting image of Arthur and Ariadne caught herself more then once calling him by his late father's name.

He married a nice girl and they also had too many children.

William was in Texas working in the oil industry and he would send her letter about his family.

Phillipa lived in Brooklyn with her family; James in Manhattan, where he worked for a newspaper.

She had to discreetly keep a ledger of the grand kids names and birth dates just to keep things strait. If her current estimations were correct, she had twenty seven grandchildren. She still couldn't believe it.

"How can we know she's a red head?" Cobb grumbled as he watched Lucy. "It's all gray to me."

"Well, Olivia insisted we get one. She says she feels like its the middle ages here." Ariadne complained.

"She sounds just like Arthur when she talks about progress. You know she talks non-stop about the rockets their building now? All this talk of outer space. It's like we live in an H.G. Wells novel." Cobb complained.

Ariadne smiled.

Cobb had gotten cranky and fat in his old age. He was in his seventies now and the world had grown up too fast for his liking.

"I wish Arthur was here." Ariadne said without thinking.

Cobb looked at her sadly. For a moment, she remembered how she had first met her second husband. The handsome man at a train station; with clear blue eyes and a welcoming smile. How she had hoped that it was _him_ she was supposed to marry. How glad she was, in the end, her future husband was the dark and belligerent Arthur.

"I only mean because of the television, dearest." Ariadne told him. "You know how he would have loved to have seen this technology."

"It_ is _amazing." Cobb agreed. "I wish Lady Percy was here to see it. It would be a riot to see her declare it as voodoo."

Ariadne laughed as her telephone rang.

"Who would be calling us on a Saturday?" Cobb huffed. "Your editor?"

"No, she calls only on weekdays." Ariadne said as she stood and clicked the knob to lower to volume.

"Cobb residence." her husband said into the receiver.

Ariadne let him have his conversation. Since he had retired from the law, and she wrote freelance books on the new feminist movement, and they had both become home bodies.

~ In the remodeled kitchen, Maura was looking at the noisy washing machine as it worked it's magic.  
"Oh, Missus!" Maura said and held her hand to her chest. The fidgety maid had been with Ariadne for over forty years now. She was still fidgety and had to take heart medications. She also needed the help of a full time maid to do most of the work, but Ariadne wouldn't hear of letting her go. How could she dismiss her closest friend?

"Maura, that machine won't blow up." Ariadne reminded the old woman.

_'Do I look as old as Maura? She looks ancient!_' Ariadne thought.

"Don't say that, Missus!" Maura cried. "I can't sleep at night knowing that thing is down here doing God only knows what! I'll have Katie take the washing out."

"Maura, Katie left us a long time ago. Remember? Just after Arthur died. She got married to that nice man and they moved to California." Ariadne had to remind her maid.

Maura was forgetting things lately just like Lady Percy used to.

"Oh... yes of course." Maura said feeling embarrassed. "Katie was a good girl. She was so thankful you paid for her to go to school in service; then brought her to America. She always told me how you saved her life."

"That's good, Maura." Ariadne said sadly. "Now sit down and I'll make us some tea."

Maura nodded and hobbled to the kitchen table.

Ariadne and Cobb had been discussing at length putting Maura in a home. It was becoming too much work for Ariadne and one maid to look after an aging husband and senile ladies maid in her golden years.

"Ariadne." Cobb said coming into the kitchen.

She turned and looked at him.

That somber 'J. Edger Hoover' face was on again.

"What is it?" She asked as she put the kettle on to boil.

"That was the butler at Blue Rivers." Cobb said. "Mr. Eames just passed away."


	75. Chapter 75

**Part XVIII**

**Ending**

_Blue Rivers_

_ July 1956_

1.

~ Ariadne felt the memories flood over her as Olivia drove them up the still stately drive of Blue Rivers.  
"How come you and Daddy never talked about this place? It's amazing!" Olivia exclaimed.

Ariadne's daughter was the only one who wanted to journey with her back to Blue Rivers. They had taken a flight all they way from New York to London and the older woman couldn't help be regale her daughter with tales of traveling on the '_Mauritania_' so soon after '_Titanic_'

Ariadne never realized how much of her early life with Arthur she had kept hidden for Olivia and the other children. They didn't even know Arthur had survived the "_Empress of Ireland"_ sinking until they read it in his obituary.

"We wanted to go back to America. The war was about to start and your father wanted us to be safe." Ariadne told her.

"Well, you still owned this house, right? Why not move here after the war?" Olivia asked.

Ariadne sighed as the grand house came into view. It looked just the same. Untouched by time and almost expectant.

She looked at her daughter. Not a trace of Jeffery was in Olivia. She looked more like Arthur than Ariadne thought possible. At forty three, Olivia looked much younger than Ariande did at that age. She wore her dark hair in a casual, yet professional bob that was popular. Her little tweed outfit of matching skirt and jacket was complemented with a string of pearls Arthur had given her for her seventeenth birthday. Olivia was just the type of woman Arthur would have approved of.

She was always his daughter.

"After the war, your father and I were busy raising you children. You know how it is." Ariadne explained.

"Mother, it's a far cry from a Brownstone in Manhattan to this!" Olivia said as she put the parking brake on the car they rented and stepped out to observe the house.

Ariadne felt ready to cry. She half expected Miles to come out and greet her. A young Maura to say:

'_We missed you, Missus.'_

At this point, she would love to have seen Lady Percy step out onto the driveway and regard them coolly.

Mostly, she wished she could see Eames.

"It's complicated, Olivia." Ariadne explained sadly. "After the _Empress_ sank, your father wasn't right for a while."

"How come you and Daddy never told us about the _Empress_, or about Blue Rivers? I didn't find out I wasn't born in America till I was eighteen and you made me register to vote." Olivia asked as shte walked to the front door.

"_Made_ you vote?" Ariadne snapped. "When I first married your father there was not such thing as women voting."

Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes. It was Arthur's look of exasperation.

Olivia rang the bell and as they waited, Ariadne tried to explain.  
"Our first two years of marriage was difficult. Arthur's great uncle had died on "_Titanic"_ and left him this estate. We moved here only to find it was bankrupt. Your father installed the communications hub that we saw in the village. He also invested in Ford and made more then enough to settle Blue Rivers debts. He brought in more renters and saved it."

Olivia waited for her to go on and Ariadne took a deep breath.

"It was hard because even though we lived here, it wasn't really our house. We had to maintain too many servants; there was your Aunt Percy and we were miles from the city. It made more sense to live in New York, in a home of our own." Ariadne explained.

"So you just gave the estate to Mr. Eames? Daddy's cousin?" Olivia asked.

Ariadne was about to respond when the door opened and a middle aged butler greeted them.

"Ariadne Bradford-Cobb and Olivia Bradford-Winters." Ariadne said curtly to the man.

"You are expected. Please come in." The butler said and bid them to follow him.

Ariadne took a deep breath at seeing the inside of Blue Rivers.

Half of her dreaded coming back to this place. She was afraid of what the years of neglect would do to this fine home. The outside looked fine, but Eames had reportedly lived like a hermit after the great war and didn't leave Blue Rivers.

She was shocked to see it looked as bright and lively as ever.

In fact, nothing seemed to have changed. It was like she had gone back in time forty years ago. Even the furnishings and paintings were the same.

"Mr. Fischer is en route. Would you like to sit in the library?" The butler asked. "We also have a ladies sitting room, I apologize in advance for the painting of the late Lady Persephone Bradford over the mantle. Mr. Eames would not allow it to be removed."

"Can we wait in the conservatory?" Ariadne asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. Mr. Eames used that as his writing room and primary residence. A bit eccentric, I know, but he was a writer." The butler explained. "No one goes into the conservatory."

"I see." Ariadne said softly. "If we stay away from the conservatory, may we look around the house? As you may know, I used to be the lady of Blue Rivers and my daughter was born here."

"Of course you may. Mr. Eames had kept a set of spare rooms at the ready if you ever happened to visit." The butler said.

~ "Mother, this place is so beautiful! It's like a fairy tale!" Olivia said as mother and daughter went upstairs first.  
"You should have seen it before you father put electricity in. It was like a dungeon!" Ariadne laughed as she remembered Arthur irritation at the primitive conditions.

"That's where you took your first steps." Ariadne nodded once they reached the bedroom she had shared with Arthur.

Eames had indeed kept it mostly the same. The linen was freshly made and expecting her. She could almost see her young husband packing his trunk to go to America.

"This was your nursery. It was Phillipa's before that." Ariadne explained.

The two women wandered downstairs to Lady Percy's old parlor.

"Goodness, that's Aunt Percy?" Olivia asked. When they looked over the unflattering painting of a girl in an overly done pink dress.

Ariadne laughed.

"She wasn't to happy having us move into her home. She eventually came around. She helped me deliver you. I don't think I would have made it without her help. It was a hard delivery." She explained.

"Thank God you had my brothers in a hospital." Olivia said.

"Your father did all his business here in the library." Ariadne explained as they entered the masculine environment of the library and Olivia examined the books there.

Olivia was always a book lover. She worked at the New York City Library and literature was her passion. It didn't hurt that her mother was a writer.

"How come you never told me that you knew C.R. Eames? I mean, he's one of the most famous writers in the world and not only did you know him, but were related to him." Olivia said at last.

Ariadne sat at Arthur's old desk. The phone he used was still there. Clean but in disuse after so long. Eames had kept Blue Rivers like she kept her front parlor. A museum; a shrine to when things made sense.

"It's complicated." Ariadne said sadly.

"I think I should know the truth, mother." Olivia said.

"Mr. Eames and I were friends. We wrote a lot together. He was so brilliant, Olivia, I can't tell you how smart he was." Ariadne explained.  
"They call him the Rouge Knight because of his work. It's still considered too racy and scandalous in some circles." Olivia laughed.

Ariadne smiled.

"Eames and I would spend a great deal of time together, your father didn't like it. That's the main reason we went home to New York." Ariadne explained.  
"Daddy was worried you would have an affair? That's ridiculous!" Olivia laughed.

"It's not so ridiculous." Ariadne said sadly. "Eames and I... if I hadn't been married to your father, I would have been with him. We were closer then I've ever been with anyone. When we thought your father had died on the "_Empress"_, Eames wanted me to stay with him. He wanted to adopt you." Ariadne explained.

Olivia shook her head. Not comprehending that her elderly mother was once a young and foolish girl.

"Did you ever cheat on Daddy with this Mr. Eames?" Olivia asked. Her pretty face looking heart broken.

"No, darling. Never." Ariadne assured her. "But we couldn't help but love each other. He dedicated all his books to me."

"No he didn't." Olivia laughed. "Mother, I studied the Rouge Knight at Barnard. He dedicated all his works to an unnamed woman who stole his words."

Olivia looked proud of herself.

Ariadne removed her first edition of _'Rouge Knight'_ from her handbag.

"See for yourself, goose." She smiled as Olivia looked curiously at the first edition.

Olivia's mouth dropped in shock.

"Mother!" She exclaimed.

Ariadne laughed.

"You were only a toddler when that came out. He dedicated it to me in the first edition only. Only a few thousand copies were ever sold. Since then, he dedicated it only to the women who stole his words." Ariadne explained.

"You?" Olivia sighed.

"Yes." Ariadne said softly.

"Mother, Daddy passed away before you were even forty. Why not go to Eames then? You were still young. He obviously still loved you if he kept dedicating all his books to you. Why not go to him if you both loved each other?" Olivia asked.


	76. Chapter 76

2.

~ Olivia looked over the yellowed newspaper clipping advertising a book signing by C.R. Eames in 1915. The photograph of the handsome and enigmatic author was one of the few times he was ever seen in public again. He was never photographed after the end of the great war.

"I mean, C.R. Eames is like a sex God of modern literature. Why did you pick _Cobb_ over him?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia! Language!" Ariadne spat.

"Sex is not a dirty word, mother!" Olivia snapped back. Ariadne's own temper was a living thing in her daughter. "You've had sex, I've had sex. It's fine."

"Olivia!" Ariadne cried out. "I'll have you know that I married Dom because he is a good man who has always been good to this family. He was also very handsome in his day."

"Yuck." Olivia retorted.

Ariadne sighed.  
"Mr. Eames was a bit of a loose cannon back then. I hadn't seen him in over fifteen years, there was every chance he might not be the same person. Time and war changes people." Ariadne told her daughter.

"You knew he wasn't married. You knew he was living at Blue Rivers. Mother, he kept rooms available for the day you would come back to him." Olivia cried.  
"Your father dieing was devastating. I had you and your brothers to think of. I wasn't that same girl he fell in love with anymore." Ariadne explained.

She took a deep breath.  
"I wanted to remember Eames as the man in a book shop in 1915. The man who rescued me from an evil house keeper. I wanted to think about the times Eames and I would spend in the conservatory and write." Ariadne explained. "The memories were better than the truth."

"What truth?" Olivia whispered.

"We only knew each other for a year and a half." Ariadne explained. "But in that time, we had history. Things we regret."

"Like what?" Olivia prodded.

Ariadne shook her head.

"Questions that are better left unanswered." she told her daughter.

As if on cue, the butler came into the library and announced Robert Fischer.

Ariadne almost didn't recognize the thin man she met in Whitechapel so many years ago. She and Robert Fisher had kept in touch by mail and phone calls over the years.

Where Ariadne failed to keep ties to Eames, she didn't fail Robert, nor did he fail her.

"Mrs. Bradford, how lovely." He said as his blue eyes sparkled over her. "Thank you again so much for your contributions to the hospital."

"Mr. Fischer, this is my daughter, Olivia. Olivia, Robert Fisher here runs an outreach program. It started out as a charity hospital for the poor." Ariadne said.

"Well, we mostly do drug and alcohol rehabilitation now. Parenting classes and we help people who are high risk of being homeless." He explained.

"Pleased to meet you." Olivia said politely.

"I'm also Mr. Eames' lawyer." Fischer said removing his glasses.

"That's kind of you. I'm sure the Rouge Knight had a large estate. He was a legend here in England." Olivia laughed.

"It's not too complicated. Your mother gets everything." Robert said simply. "He left a few book royalties to my works while he was living, but Blue Rivers and it's grounds are all yours."

"I think we'll be donating Blue Rivers to the National Trust." Ariadne said with a sigh.

"A wise decision. I tried to get Mr. Eames to see this. It's a lot of money to keep the old girl running. Hardly worth it since he never left the conservatory." Fisher said.

"The conservatory is where Eames and I used to write." Ariadne explained.

Olivia looked curious.

"Can we see it?" She asked.  
"Oh, only your mother will be allowed in." Robert said. "The will was very specific."

Ariadne took a deep breath.

"Sign here." Robert said as he gave her a copy of the will and stood to leave.

"I have to go back to London, if you like, I'll call an estate lawyer about donating the house." he said.

"Thank you, Robert." Ariadne whispered and gave him a hug.

~ "Mother! You're going to give the house away? This was your home! You could live here again!" Olivia complained.

Ariadne stood outside the conservatory doors.

A narrow brass key in her hands as she took in the stained glass french doors she had forgotten about.

"Olivia, why don't you explore the house some more?" Ariadne said. "I need a moment."

"Mother!" Olivia cried.  
"Go!" Ariadne said sharply.

Her daughter gave her that mutinous look that she had since the day she born, and walked away.

Ariadne turned the lock of the conservatory and freed the ghosts.

~ Where the rest of Blue Rivers was kept up like some kind of time capsule, the conservatory was shut off from the world and allowed to descend into madness.

Gone were the rows of carefully protected flowers and plants. The conservatory windows were dirty from decades of neglect. The few exceptions were the new panes that had to be replaced over the years.

She spotted a modest little bed in the corner of the conservatory. A neatly made quit giving this dark and desolate place some comfort.

She swallowed as she walked to the former sitting room at the end of the glassed in room. A place she and Eames would talk and write, Phillipa playing silently nearby.

The cozy sitting room was replaced with a massive table that was piled high with papers.

She recognized the old typewriter Eames had shown her when he came back from Asia. It sat lifeless and broken after so many years of use. In it's place was a new electric typewriter. She looked over the unfinished pages. He was almost done with his last novel when he had died. A story of the Rouge Knight and his lady. Facing retribution as they tried to steal away from her vengeful, war lord husband.

There was a beautiful chaos this place. Scattered papers and disorganized notes where everywhere.

Ariadne had to put on her glasses as she read over Eames' notes.

She almost didn't see it. A gilt frame harboring a faded picture on his writing table.

It was the snap shot of herself and Olivia in the book shop. The candid one he stole without her knowing.

She suddenly felt Eames ghost was around her. His dark presence that hated her intrusion.

"Oh, Eames." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

She felt the dark specter was close, but holding back.

"You must know, it was better this way. The way we left things in that book shop. That was our happy ending. It wasn't a perfect ending. But it was a happy one." She told the specter.

The shadows said nothing. A longing trying to hold her and she brushed it off. She would not be comforted by Eames now.  
"I didn't tell you about Arthur's death for a reason. I knew you would show up at my door and beg me to come back to Blue Rivers with you. I would have said yes." She whispered shamefully.

Eames' spirit moved closer to her. Still not saying a word.

"But deep down, I could never love you the way I once did. Because, I would always wonder." She said.

'_The box._' the shadowy spirit said in her ear. '_The box._'

Ariadne noticed a heavily decorated wooden box on Eames' desk.

'_I'm sorry. I'm sorrier then you can ever know. Forgive a fool who loved you._' the specter whispered.

She opened the wooden box and her vision blurred with tears.

Inside were three yellowed telegrams marked June 1914. All three with a red 'urgent' stamped over them in bold type. All were from Dom Cobb in New York telling Ariadne Bradford that Arthur was alive after the _Empress_ sinking.

"I knew you hid them." Ariadne said sadly. "I knew you wanted to believe he was gone. That if he thought I gave up on him, he would leave me and you would be there to pick up the pieces."

'_I wanted you is all._' the spirit said. '_I'm so sorry_.'

"I know. It hardly matters now, does it?" She laughed.

"_Please forgive me?_' The spirit asked.

"Of course. I loved you to." She said gently as she could feel Eames slip away forever. "I always loved you." she added to the empty conservatory.

~ Olivia was waiting in the library when Ariadne returned carrying piles of paper and notes.  
"Your Rouge Knight's last book. I thought you might like to finish it for him." Ariadne offered.

Olivia looked sad as she realized her mother had been crying.  
"Mother, are you alright?" She asked.

"Of course. Just memories dear." Ariadne said.

"Are we going to stay the night?" Olivia asked.

Ariadne went to the book case and found the family bible and the family photo album. She wanted to give them to Phillipa and James when they got home. She handed them to her daughter as she disconnected Arthur's old phone from his desk. It was modern back when it was installed; a relic now.

This was all she wanted from Blue Rivers.

"No dear, I want to fly out today." Ariadne told her as she cradled Arthur's prized telephone in her arms.  
"Don't you want to visit Eames' grave?" Olivia asked. "The rose gardens?"

"No. I said my goodbyes." Ariadne told her.

"Mother, please don't give this house away." Olivia pleaded as the two women left Blue Rivers for the last time.

"The National Trust will preserve it. Better then I ever could." Ariadne told her. "I'm sure they will jump at the chance to claim the house of the late C.R. Eames."

"Don't you want more things from here? The art work of the family?"

"Phillipa and James can come back if they want. They had no interest in coming with us to a place they hardly remember, so I doubt they want anything." Ariadne said as she went out to the car and sat primly in the passenger seat with Arthur's phone on her lap.

Olivia shook her head and carefully place the family photo album in the back seat along with Eames' last manuscript.

Olivia didn't see her mother sneak a hand in her summer jacket pocket and pull out a gilt frame with a weather photograph in it. She smiled at her much younger self and remembered that day in the book shop. How handsome Eames was. How they had parted as friends in a sad, but still happy ending.

The two women didn't say a word as they drove away from Blue Rivers.

**~ END ~**

** Thank you so much for sticking with me on the longest story I've ever written. Aside from my Arthur and Ariadne "little family" saga.**

** I base a lot of my writing on events or people around me. For example, in "Girl who Dance on my Feet" I took the evacuation of Paris, and France in general, from the massive evacuation out of Houston Texas I personally witnessed from Hurricane Rita. **

** I took a lot of what I wrote for "Convenient Wife" from "Downton Abby" and other media like Kate Morton's work. **

** But a lot was taken from my own life. **

** I remember very well when our public library got the internet, and no one knew how to use it, so they taught a class. Everyone was just in awe of this technology and one older woman said it was just a fad. So I based the first phone call in Blue Rivers from that experience. **

** Arthur's illness and death, is another personal one. **

** About 5-6 years into my marriage, my husband developed diverticulitis. He had to have three major abdominal surgeries in six months and nearly died. I remember his last one, he was on breathing tubes and he kept telling me where the life insurance papers were and when the oil in the car was due to be changed. **

** Thankfully, he pulled through and is doing fine. That experience made me grateful for modern medicine and that I had a second chance with him. **

** I based Mrs. Abbot on a woman I knew who preached the gospel all day and abused her children and elderly mother at night. **

** Lady Percy was taken from a woman I used to look after. She was horrible until she had a massive stroke, and then became very pleasant. That happens sometimes. All she wanted to do was hug people. **

** I redeemed Lady Percy in the story because I think it would have been hard being her in that time period. She was independent and she was forced to live in a world where a crime (rape) could happen to her and it would be her fault. She had her home taken over by strangers and she had no control over her own life. It must have been very hard. Not even mentioning having her child taken away. No one wants to be the bad guy. Even the bad guys think they are doing good. Lady Percy only acted as she was taught. **

** I wanted this story to show that life for women back then wasn't romantic and fun. We see movies like "Titanic" and "Downton Abby", but the reality is that women had no rights. They couldn't vote, spousal abuse wasn't against the law, nor was spousal rape. A woman couldn't divorce her husband without just cause and she would most likely lose her children if she did. **

** An unmarried mother was truly in danger of being destitute and before the lessons of the Great Depression, there was no safety net as far as loss of income.**

** Children were left to fend for themselves and indeed, many of them worked in factories. In researching this story, I read a statement from a factory owner that I gave to Arthur about employing children. That their income keeps a family together. That often times that income is what will keep food on the table or a roof over their heads. It doesn't make it okay, but it makes it understandable. **

** This was the price we paid for the industrial revolution. 18 hour work days, low pay, child workers, no safety standards. **

** One of the ways Arthur made his money was by employing children and paying his workers little. I didn't want to sugar coat it, because that was how it was done back then. I didn't want him to be a saint or a do good-er. I wanted him to be as flawed as anyone else. **

** I made Robert Fischer a kind of hero as far as saving people. I think it would be a good thing for Robert Fischer to have devoted his life to. Robert's charity hospital would have been the only help for a great many people back then. **

** We are very lucky to live in a world where we have rights and we have an economic safety net that are not just charities. **

** As for Maggie, I just put her in for a tease. Cuz if you were Arthur's maid, you bet you would be meeting him for morning coffee. **

**I based her and Katie on Eliza Makepeace for Kate Morton's "Forgotten Garden" only, I gave them the ending I wanted. Orig ending made me sad. **

** As for Eames and Ariadne. My main story with them is that they were soul mates. They were meant to be together, but she was married. She loved Arthur and was grateful to him for saving her. Eames knew if Arthur was out of the way, he could be with the woman he loved. **

** But, because Eames betrayed her, she could never be with him. Not even after Arthur died. **

** Ariadne forgives Eames for his betrayal, but the bookstore meeting was so important because they parted as friends. **

** So who do you chose, the man you married and who you learned to love? Or your soul mate? **

** I'm sorry I neglected "The Bleed" sometimes I get into a story and I have to start it right away. **

** If you liked this story even a little, please read Kate Morton. She's the best. **


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